Is PACE a Medicare Advantage plan?

No. PACE is its own program. You get Medicare and Medi-Cal services through the PACE organization, including drugs. Joining a separate Part D plan disenrolls you from PACE.

Do I have to be 65 or on Medi-Cal?

No. The age rule is 55. You do not have to have Medicare or Medi-Cal to be eligible, but what you pay depends on whether you have them. The state still has to certify a nursing-home level of care.

Does every Los Angeles ZIP have PACE?

No. You have to live in a PACE organization’s service area. Check the ZIP on Medicare.gov or the California list. This page cannot see your ZIP.

What Is a PACE Program? | Medisure Agency

What you get

A team of health professionals builds one care plan. PACE covers Medicare- and Medicaid-covered services, prescription drugs, and other care the team decides you need to stay in the community. Medicare’s examples include primary care, the PACE center, home care, hospital care, nursing-home care when it is needed, dentistry, therapy, meals at the center, and rides to the center and to medical appointments. The team’s approval is what counts. A service listed here is not a promise for every person.

Joining changes where your care comes from

If you have Medicare and join PACE, you get your drugs and your other Medicare services through that PACE organization. You use its team and its network. Medicare says that if you join a separate Part D plan while you are in PACE, you will be disenrolled from PACE. That is different from ACCESS, which you can add while you keep seeing any doctor who accepts Original Medicare. PACE is also not GUIDE. GUIDE is a dementia model. PACE is a full program.

Who can join

Medicare lists four conditions. Meeting them on this page is not an enrollment. California’s Department of Health Care Services certifies the nursing-home level of care.

You are 55 or older. PACE is not limited to people who are 65.
You live in the service area of a PACE organization. The area is by ZIP code, not by county alone.
The state certifies that you need a nursing-home level of care.
You can live safely in the community with PACE’s help at the time you enroll.

What you may pay

Medicare says that if you have Medicaid, called Medi-Cal in California, you will not pay a monthly premium for the PACE benefit. If you have Medicare and do not qualify for Medi-Cal, you pay a monthly premium for the long-term care portion and a premium for the Part D drugs. The amount depends on whether you have Part A, Part B, or both. If you have neither Medicare nor Medi-Cal, you can pay the premium yourself. Medicare also says you will not have a deductible, copay, or coinsurance for a drug, service, or care the PACE team approves. Confirm the premium with the organization before you enroll.

Los Angeles County is not one service area

PACE exists in California, including sites in some Los Angeles County cities. A ZIP across town can still be outside the area. CalPACE’s January 2025 list puts a site in Los Angeles, Alhambra, Pasadena, Rosemead, El Monte, Covina, Norwalk, Long Beach, Compton, Inglewood, and Carson. Those city pages name the address. Other sites are in cities this website does not have a page for. Medicare’s finder is Medicare.gov PACE. California posts organizations and ZIP codes on the DHCS PACE plans page. Starting November 20, 2025, DHCS paused applications from groups that want to become a new PACE organization or expand a service area, for at least two years. That pause is not a statement that existing programs stopped taking participants. Ask the organization that covers your ZIP.

What this page will not do

It will not say that you qualify, and it will not name a PACE organization for your ZIP. The state and the organization decide. If you want help sorting PACE from a Medicare Advantage plan or from staying on Original Medicare, Talk with Alan. That conversation does not enroll you.

Common questions

Is PACE a Medicare Advantage plan?: No. PACE is its own program. You get Medicare and Medi-Cal services through the PACE organization, including drugs. Joining a separate Part D plan disenrolls you from PACE.
Do I have to be 65 or on Medi-Cal?: No. The age rule is 55. You do not have to have Medicare or Medi-Cal to be eligible, but what you pay depends on whether you have them. The state still has to certify a nursing-home level of care.
Does every Los Angeles ZIP have PACE?: No. You have to live in a PACE organization’s service area. Check the ZIP on Medicare.gov or the California list. This page cannot see your ZIP.

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