CMS announces Medicare Part B dementia care model

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today announced the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, a voluntary national Medicare payment model beginning next July that aims to help dementia patients remain at home and improve quality of life for them and their caregivers. Participating Medicare Part B providers and suppliers will receive a monthly per-beneficiary amount for providing care management and coordination and caregiver education and support services. Certain safety net providers in the new program track will be eligible for a one-time, lump sum infrastructure payment to support program development activities. CMS is accepting letters of interest through Sept. 15 and plans to release a request for applications this fall.