CMS Launches MAHA ELEVATE Model to Fund Chronic Disease Prevention Initiatives

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the launch of the Make America Healthy Again: Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value-based Approaches Through Evidence (MAHA ELEVATE) model, a voluntary payment initiative supporting up to 30 proposals focused on chronic disease prevention and health promotion. These proposals must incorporate evidence-based lifestyle or functional medicine interventions that are currently not covered by Original Medicare. CMS aims to gather data on cost and quality from these interventions to assess their potential for integration into Original Medicare in the future. The first funding notice will be released in early 2026 for a cohort that begins September 1, 2026, followed by a second cohort starting a year later.