Memory care operators are gearing up for deeper participation in the new Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which officially launched this week.
More than 400 healthcare organizations are participating in dementia care programs, from senior living operators to health systems and beyond. Organizations including senior living providers HumanGood and Lifespark, along with medical group Curana Health and tech-enabled behavioral health company Rippl, are participating in the new GUIDE model..
The GUIDE model, introduced in 2023, aims to help individuals with dementia remain in their homes longer and maintain better health. It provides training for in-home caregivers and offers 24/7 support. Additionally, it explores a new payment system for participating providers to enhance patient care coordination.
Integrating within the GUIDE model could better equip senior living providers to achieve various aspects of a shift to value-based care, and many in the industry are taking note. During a webinar hosted earlier this year by investment bank Ziegler, ATI Advisory CEO Anne Tumlinson said GUIDE would have “very disruptive potential.”
“Every memory care operator looking to evolve past their traditional brick-and-mortar offerings should examine the GUIDE Model,” James Lee, CEO and Founder of memory care community Bella Groves, told MCB earlier this year. “Helping unpaid caregivers to put their oxygen mask on first is a monumentally important mindset shift that all senior living providers can adopt.”
GUIDE’s ‘great opportunity’ for Memory Care
The GUIDE model aims to bring dementia and long-term care services to more older adults living with cognitive decline. By 2040, CMS estimates that nearly half of the older adult population will be over 75.
Memory care operators, referred to as sub-participants in the GUIDE program, are eligible for two types of payments when partnering with senior living organizations aligned with GUIDE model participants to achieve CMS’s overarching goals.
Senior living companies can receive an “infrastructure payment” over the next 12 months to implement the GUIDE program by July 2025.
HumanGood will launch its GUIDE program next year in Southern California and Pennsylvania, across its 22 life plan and affordable senior housing communities, according to HumanGood Senior Vice President of Healthcare Services Phil Chuang.
HumanGood’s GUIDE program lays the groundwork for rollout “to seniors living near our communities.”
“As we work toward our launch, this will be a great opportunity to shape a program based on resident feedback and expand on the amazing memory support expertise and education we currently provide to our residents and families through our Immerse memory support program within HumanGood,” Chuang told MCB.
Chuang said HumanGood and other participating organizations will be able to use the new model to provide more support to older adults sooner in their dementia diagnosis and offer more support to caregivers.
St. Louis Park, Minnesota-based senior living provider Lifespark will evaluate older adults who would most benefit from its GUIDE program ahead of next year’s rollout.
The GUIDE model begins to “fill the gaps” between health incidents among older adults, especially in home health and hospice—areas that often get “left out” of value-based care conversations, Lifespark Chief Operating Officer Matt Kinne said.
“Immediately with this model, we can start to fill those gaps and continue to provide real value and support seniors’ life and health goals longer and more seamlessly,” Kinne said in an emailed statement to MCB.
Senior living operators are relying on independent “payviders” like Curana Health to offer medical services to residents to build out new value-based care models in assisted living and memory care settings.
“We intend to be ready to go live in July 2025 and will have a robust communication and marketing plan to support our people,” Kinne added.