DeBrunner & Associates’ Pennsylvania managing director Michael Chirieleison and senior policy analyst Janel Gleeson led a session on “State and PACE Organization Efforts to Raise Awareness About PACE” during the National PACE Association’s 2025 Spring Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. last week.
PACE is a joint Medicare/Medicaid program through which older adults meet their health care needs in the community instead of going to a nursing home or other care facility. During the two-day forum, congressional staff and experts on PACE programs shared their perspectives on policies and issues affecting both the PACE model of care and the environment in which PACE programs operate.
Mike and Janel lead the DeBrunner & Associates’ team that provides policy consulting, advocacy, and association management services to the Pennsylvania LIFE Provider Alliance – PALPA – which consists of 11 individual LIFE provider organizations. (In Pennsylvania, PACE is known as “LIFE” – Living Independence for the Elderly.) Those LIFE programs provide a comprehensive array of health and support services to qualified seniors who face health challenges that threaten their continued ability to live independently in the community.