West Virginia should bring PACE to families who need it most

Opinion by Jason Parsons,

Mrs. Johnson wanted only one thing — to stay in her home as she aged.

She lives alone, with diabetes, heart disease, and mobility challenges that make daily life difficult. Her daughter drives from Martinsburg to Winchester, Va., several evenings each week after work to help with medications, meals, and bathing. Like many West Virginia families, they were doing everything they could to avoid a nursing-home placement they neither wanted nor could easily afford.

Just across the state line in Virginia, Mrs. Johnson became eligible for a Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly — better known as PACE — and everything changed. She now receives coordinated medical care, transportation, therapy, meals, and social support through one program. Her daughter still plays an important caregiving role, but she no longer carries that heavy responsibility alone.

Most importantly, Mrs. Johnson is still living at home and is happy there.

Stories like this are why West Virginia should bring PACE to my home state.

I say this both as the President & CEO of Blue Ridge Care — which operates a PACE program in nearby Virginia — and as a proud West Virginian. I was born in southern West Virginia and now live in the Eastern Panhandle. Many members of our staff at Blue Ridge Care are West Virginians who cross the border each day to provide care. We see firsthand how strongly this dynamic model of care aligns with the values of our communities.

PACE is designed for older adults who qualify for nursing-home–level care but prefer to remain in their homes. It integrates medical care, behavioral health, medications, therapy, transportation, and social services into one coordinated system. That coordination is what makes the difference for both patients and caregivers.

The results are clear: better health outcomes, fewer emergency room visits, fewer hospitalizations, and dramatically reduced reliance on nursing-home placement.

PACE is also a smart investment for Medicaid programs. Because the model focuses on prevention, coordination, and community-based care, states often see meaningful cost savings compared to institutional care. National data consistently show that keeping individuals safely at home through PACE can cost significantly less than long-term nursing facility placement while improving quality of care and patient satisfaction.

That matters in West Virginia, where nearly 21% of residents are age 65 or older, one of the highest proportions in the country. It matters in a state where more than one in four adults serves as a family caregiver. And it matters as Medicaid continues to shoulder the majority of long-term care costs.

West Virginia families already provide extraordinary care for loved ones. What they often lack is a coordinated healthcare partner to support them.

PACE fills that gap.

Today, more than 30 states offer PACE programs. West Virginia does not — but it could.

Bringing PACE to West Virginia would strengthen caregiver support, improve health outcomes for seniors, reduce avoidable hospitalizations, and help Medicaid dollars go further.

Most importantly, it would help older West Virginians remain where they want to be — at home, in their communities, surrounded by family.

That’s not just good healthcare policy. It’s the West Virginia way.

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Jason Parsons, a native of Boone County, W.Va., and a graduate of West Virginia University, is President & CEO of Blue Ridge Care in Winchester, Va.