Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model for Dementia Care

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model on July 1, 2024. It is a voluntary nationwide model test that aims to support people with dementia and their unpaid caregivers.

The GUIDE Model is an attempt to provide Medicare funded comprehensive, coordinated dementia care to improve quality of life for people with dementia, reduce strain on their unpaid caregivers, and enable people with dementia to remain in their homes and communities. It also advances key goals of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dementia significantly impacts the family and other unpaid caregivers, who often provide significant amounts of assistance with personal care, finance, household and medication management, clinical coordination, and other care. Many caregivers for people with dementia, often Medicare beneficiaries themselves, report high levels of stress and depression, which negatively affect their overall health and increase their risk for serious illness, hospitalization, and mortality.

Model Background Resources

• GUIDE Model Press Release
• GUIDE Model Fact Sheet (PDF)
• GUIDE Model Strength in Partnerships Fact Sheet (PDF)
• GUIDE Model Participant Incentives to Participate Fact Sheet (PDF)
• GUIDE Model Launch Blog Post
• GUIDE Participant List (XLSX)

Technical Resources

• GUIDE Model Payment Methodology Paper (PDF)
• GUIDE Model Frequently Asked Questions
• GUIDE Model Request for Applications (RFA) (PDF)