InnovAge is a company that uses private equity money to aggressively expand a Medicare program, Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), that keeps older and disabled people out of nursing homes. Before, only nonprofits were allowed to run this type of program, but the gates have opened to for-profit companies with the hope of expanding the services faster. In exchange for monthly payments from Medicare and Medicaid, PACE programs pay for all doctor’s visits, medications, rehabilitation, daily needs, and hospitalization. This capped monthly payment forces organizations to invest in maintaining a patient’s health to avoid large hospital bills. Critics, however, note that caring for elders is full of abuse, something that is correlated with increased commercialization of the industry.
See Sarah Varney, Private Equity Pursues Profits in Keeping the Elderly at Home, NY Times, August 20, 2016.
Special thanks to Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
