Banner selected by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to test Medicare dementia care model

PHOENIX - Banner Alzheimer’s Institute and Banner Sun Health Research Institute recently were selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in a new Medicare alternative payment model designed to support people living with dementia and their caregivers.

Under CMS’ Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, these institutes will be among almost 400 participants building Dementia Care Programs across the country, working to increase care coordination and improve access to services and supports, including respite care, for people living with dementia and their caregivers.

“CMS is excited to partner with the Banner institutes under the GUIDE Model,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “GUIDE is a new approach to how Medicare will pay for the care of people living with dementia. The GUIDE participants are envisioning new ways to support not only people living with dementia, but also to reduce strain on the people who care for them, so that more Americans can remain in their homes and communities, rather than in institutions.”

Launched on July 1, the GUIDE Model will test a new payment approach for key supportive services furnished to people living with dementia, including: comprehensive, person-centered assessments and care plans; care coordination; 24/7 access to an interdisciplinary care team member or help line; and certain respite services to support caregivers. People with dementia and their caregivers will have the assistance and support of a care navigator to help them access clinical and non-clinical services such as meals and transportation through community-based organizations.

“This expansion will improve quality of life for more people living with dementia, reduce strain on their unpaid caregivers, and better enable people living with dementia to remain in their homes by preventing or delaying nursing home placement,” said Lori Nisson, Family and Community Services director for Banner Alzheimer’s Institute and Banner Sun Health Research Institute. 

Banner’s participation in the GUIDE Model will help people living with dementia and their caregivers have access to education and support, such as training programs on best practices for caring for a loved one living with dementia. The GUIDE Model also provides respite services for certain people, enabling caregivers to take temporary breaks from their caregiving responsibilities. Respite is being tested under the GUIDE Model to assess its effect on helping caregivers continue to care for their loved ones at home, preventing or delaying the need for facility care.

GUIDE Participants represent a wide range of health care providers, including large academic medical centers, small group practices, community-based organizations, health systems, hospice agencies, and other practices.

“Our nation’s current infrastructure lacks the framework to provide comprehensive support to caregivers of those living with dementia,” said Ganesh Gopalakrishna, MD, associate clinical medical director for Banner Alzheimer’s Institute’s Stead Family Memory Center in Phoenix. “Dementia Care Partners fulfills our mission to set a new national standard of care for patients and families within our institutes, as well as people in our broader communities.” 

This model delivers on a promise in the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers and aligns with the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. For more information on CMS’ GUIDE Model, visit https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/guide.

To contact the Dementia Care Partners program, please call 623-832-6500 and choose option 6. For information, visit: bannerhealth.com/services/alzheimers/for-caregivers/resources-for-caregivers

About Banner Alzheimer’s Institute

Since its inception in 2006, Banner Alzheimer’s Institute has sought to find effective Alzheimer’s disease prevention therapies without losing another generation, establish a new model of dementia care for patients and family caregivers, and forge new models of collaboration in biomedical research. It has made groundbreaking contributions to the unusually early detection, tracking, diagnosis and study of Alzheimer’s, and aims to find an effective prevention therapy by 2025. It includes the pioneering Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative, an extensive profile of research studies and clinical trials, comprehensive clinical, family and community service programs, a leading brain imaging research program, and strategic partnerships with public and private research organizations around the world. Learn more at www.bannerhealth.com/Alzheimers.