What is the difference between PACE and the MI Choice Waiver?
Both help people who qualify for nursing-home-level care stay in the community. PACE replaces a person's medical care with its own team and day center; MI Choice adds home and community services and supports coordination on top of regular Medicaid and Medicare, and you keep your doctors.
| PACE | MI Choice | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 55+ | Adults meeting nursing facility level of care |
| Medical care | PACE's own team and network | Your existing doctors |
| It isn't | Available outside its listed ZIP codes | A replacement for Medicare medical care |
| Run by | Local PACE organizations (Care Resources, LifeCircles-PACE...) | Regional waiver agents (AAAWM, Reliance, Senior Resources) |
Can someone be in PACE and MI Choice at the same time?
No. MDHHS lists not being enrolled in the MI Choice waiver as a PACE eligibility requirement.
PACE eligibility and ZIP coverage · MI Choice agents by county.
Which is better for someone in Grand Rapids?
PACE suits people who want one team coordinating everything and are comfortable switching doctors; MI Choice suits people with established doctors they want to keep and who mainly need help at home.
Care Resources' PACE service area includes every Kent County ZIP, so for Grand Rapids residents both are on the table. On the Lakeshore, LifeCircles-PACE covers most ZIPs. In Lakeview, which no published PACE list covers, MI Choice is the option.
What do both programs leave out?
Room and board. Neither pays rent or meals in an adult foster care home or home for the aged; residents pay those from income and savings.
How do you apply for PACE or MI Choice in West Michigan?
Call the PACE organization for your ZIP code or the MI Choice waiver agent for your county; each screens for nursing facility level of care and helps with the Medicaid application, which runs through MDHHS.
Kent, Allegan, Montcalm, Ionia: Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan, 616-456-5664, or Reliance Community Care Partners. Ottawa: Senior Resources, 231-739-5858, or Reliance. PACE: Care Resources, 616-913-2006 or 800-610-6299; LifeCircles-PACE Holland, 616-582-3100 (Holland).
What happens if a PACE participant needs a nursing home?
PACE stays responsible for care, including nursing home care when the team decides it is needed; participants remain enrolled.
MI Choice, by contrast, is a community program: a long-term nursing home stay moves a person to nursing home Medicaid instead.
Which is easier to start?
Both start with a phone call and a screening; the timeline depends on Medicaid eligibility and, for PACE, on the participant's ZIP code.
