Hope PACE in Lee County: Who It Helps and How Families Enroll

What is PACE, and who runs it in Lee County?

PACE stands for the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. Instead of a person juggling Medicare, Medicaid, a long-term care plan, a primary doctor, specialists and home care agencies, one PACE organization provides and pays for everything, organized around a day center where members see the doctor, get therapy, eat and spend time with others.

In Lee County the PACE organization is Hope PACE, part of Hope HealthCare, the Fort Myers nonprofit best known for Hope Hospice. AHCA's monthly PACE report lists the Lee County program as operational since January 22, 2008.

How large is Hope PACE compared with its neighbors?

AHCA publishes enrollment for every Florida PACE program each month. The August 2026 report shows the Lee County program near its approved capacity, with smaller Hope PACE programs in Collier and Charlotte counties.

Source: AHCA PACE Monthly Report, August 2026. Approved slots are the number of members AHCA will pay for in that area.

Who qualifies for Hope PACE?

A person must be 55 or older, live in the program's service area, be certified by the state as needing a nursing home level of care, and be able to live safely in the community with PACE's help when they enroll. Most members qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, and for them PACE has no premium.

People with Medicare but not Medicaid can join by paying the Medicaid share privately each month. AHCA's report shows a Lee County payment rate of about $4,068 a month per Medicaid member, which gives a sense of what that private share can be.

What does PACE cover that families often pay for privately?

PACE covers everything Medicare and Medicaid cover, and anything else the team decides a member needs: primary care, prescriptions, personal care at home, adult day attendance at the center, transportation to the center and to appointments, therapy, medical equipment, and nursing home care if it becomes necessary.

The trade-off is choice. Members use the PACE physicians and PACE's contracted specialists and hospitals. A parent attached to a long-time Fort Myers doctor has to weigh that loss against the convenience of one team.

How is PACE different from Florida Medicaid long-term care?

Medicaid's long-term care program pays a managed care plan to arrange services from many providers, coordinated by a case manager, while the member keeps his or her Medicare doctors. Home and community-based services under that program have a statewide waitlist managed through the Area Agency on Aging's screening. PACE enrollment does not go through that waitlist; it depends on PACE's own slots.

Both can serve someone living in an assisted living facility, and neither pays the facility's room and board. If your parent is moving into an ALF, ask whether the building already works with Hope PACE.

What do Hope PACE members and families say they notice first?

Families usually describe two changes. The first is coordination: one team knows the member's medications, appointments and home situation, so fewer things fall through the cracks between doctors. The second is the day center, which gives isolated members a reason to get dressed and see people several days a week while giving family caregivers predictable time off.

The adjustment most families mention is changing doctors. Ask Hope PACE which specialists and hospitals it uses so you know what will change before enrolling.

What happens if a Hope PACE member needs a nursing home?

PACE remains responsible for the member's care. If the team decides nursing home care is needed, PACE arranges and pays for it in a contracted facility and continues to manage the member's medical care there. That continuity is one of the program's strengths: the same team follows the member from home to hospital to nursing home and, where possible, back home.

How does a Lee County family start the PACE process?

Contact Hope PACE directly, or call the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida's Elder Helpline at 1-866-413-5337. PACE staff visit the home, the state confirms the level of care, and DCF determines Medicaid eligibility if needed. Enrollment starts on the first day of a month, and a member can leave PACE at any time and return to regular Medicare and Medicaid.