Grand Junction and Mesa County · Care at home

Can I Join PACE in Grand Junction If I Only Have Medicare?

The call usually comes from a son or daughter. Mom is 82, lives on her own in Orchard Mesa, has fallen twice this year, and nobody wants to talk about a nursing home yet. Then someone at church mentions PACE and says it is "for people on Medicaid." It isn't only for them. Here is how it works in Mesa County when the person has Medicare and no Medicaid.

Medicare On Main Data Desk

Published October 23, 2026 · 6 min read · Reviewed by Brian Penner, 22+ years in Medicare

What PACE is, in plain terms

PACE stands for Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly. Medicare.gov's PACE page says it "helps eligible older adults who need nursing home-level care meet their health care needs in the community." A team of doctors, nurses, therapists and social workers runs your care. The PACE program pays for everything Medicare and Medicaid cover, plus anything else the team decides you need.

In Grand Junction that program is HopeWest PACE, run by the same nonprofit many families here know for hospice. Its day center is at 2754 Compass Drive. Its services page lists primary care, dentistry, home care, hospital and nursing home care when needed, prescription drugs, respite for caregivers, transportation to the center and to appointments, and a hot lunch on weekdays. HopeWest launched the program in September 2021 and, by its fourth year, was serving more than 200 people, per Beacon Senior News. The program marks five years this month.

The four tests, and the one that decides it

Medicare.gov lists four conditions. You are at least 55. You live in the program's service area. You "need a nursing home-level of care (as certified by your state)." And you can live safely at home with PACE's help.

The third test is the real gate. Being 80 and a little slower does not meet it. HopeWest's enrollment page explains that paperwork goes to the county, which contacts you for a functional assessment of whether you meet the skilled nursing level of care. That looks at everyday tasks like bathing, dressing, moving around safely and managing medications. People who need hands-on help every day often qualify. People who mainly want a good primary care doctor usually do not.

Which Mesa County addresses are in the service area

HopeWest PACE's service area is defined by ZIP code, not by county:

Source: HopeWest PACE, Who We Serve page, read October 23, 2026. Community names are ours, matched to the ZIP codes.

Look at what is missing. Collbran, De Beque, Mesa, Molina, Mack, Gateway and Glade Park have ZIP codes that are not on the list. So does anywhere in Delta or Montrose County. If your parent lives up on the Plateau or out past Loma toward Mack, call HopeWest and ask about the exact address before you plan around PACE. Moving into the service area to a family member's home in Grand Junction is the route some families take.

What it costs with Medicare and no Medicaid

This is the part the church conversation gets wrong. HopeWest's own page spells it out: "If you have Medicare but not Medicaid, there is a monthly premium." Medicare.gov breaks that premium into two pieces: one "to cover the long-term care part of the PACE benefit" and one for Part D drugs.

Sources: Medicare.gov PACE page; HopeWest PACE, What Is HopeWest PACE? page. Health First Colorado is Colorado's Medicaid program.

HopeWest does not post its premium online, so we will not guess at it. Its enrollment staff explain the costs on the first call. The trade is easy to describe, though. Medicare.gov: "Regardless of your financial situation, you won't have a deductible, copayment, or co-insurance for any drug, service, or care your PACE team approves." Compare the premium with what the family pays now. That means the Medicare plan premium, the copays, the drug costs and, above all, the hours of paid in-home help Medicare does not cover.

Medicare does not pay for ongoing custodial care at home, a point we cover in does Medicare pay for a caregiver at home. In PACE, help with bathing, dressing and meals is part of the plan when the team decides you need it. For a family already paying an agency several days a week, that changes the math.

Also ask HopeWest about Health First Colorado. Its enrollment page says that if you do not have Medicaid now, "you may be eligible and we can help you apply." Colorado's long-term care Medicaid rules are different from the regular ones, and some people who assume they are over the limit are not.

What you give up

PACE is a full Medicare plan, not an add-on. Three things change.

• The drug plan goes away. PACE provides Part D drugs. Medicare.gov: "If you join a separate Medicare drug plan while you're in the PACE program, you'll be disenrolled from PACE." The same goes for a Medicare Advantage plan; PACE takes its place.
• The doctors change. HopeWest says participants "must receive all needed healthcare, including primary care and special physician services (other than emergency services)" from its contracted providers, and "may be fully and personally liable" for unauthorized care. The PACE team's doctor becomes the main doctor.
• The team decides. Care runs through the team's authorization, emergencies aside. For some families that coordination is the point. For a parent who likes to choose their own specialists, it can be a hard adjustment.

If your parent has a Medigap policy, do not cancel it the day you apply. Wait until the PACE start date is confirmed, and ask us first how they would get coverage back if PACE did not work out.

How long it takes, and when it starts

PACE has no enrollment season. HopeWest's six steps are a phone call, a home visit, an in-home assessment by the care team, a visit to the center (lunch included), a final meeting at home to review the care plan, and signing the enrollment agreement. Coverage begins "on the first day of the following month." Participants "may disenroll at any time."

That timing matters this fall. If your parent's 2027 Medicare plan is changing or ending in Mesa County, Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, and the county lost several plans for 2027, as our 2027 Grand Junction plan list shows. If PACE is a real possibility, start HopeWest's process now. Pick the regular Medicare plan as a backup, so January 1 is covered either way.

Questions to bring to the first call

1. Is this exact address inside your service area?
2. What is the monthly premium for someone with Part A and Part B and no Medicaid, and what is the Part D portion?
3. Do you think they would qualify for Health First Colorado's long-term care program?
4. Is their current cardiologist, eye doctor or other specialist one of your contracted providers?
5. Which hospital do participants go to for planned stays, and how does after-hours care work?
6. How many days a week would they come to the center, and does the van reach their street?

HopeWest PACE's enrollment line is (970) 255-7223 (TTY 800-659-2656), weekdays 8 to 5.

When PACE is not the answer

PACE fits a narrow situation: someone who needs nursing home level care, wants to stay home, and lives in those 12 ZIP codes. For a parent who is still mostly independent, the better conversation is usually about the right Medicare plan now and a long-term care plan for later. Our long-term care planning post for Grand Junction covers that. For someone near the end of life, hospice is a separate Medicare benefit; see Medicare hospice care in Colorado.

I have worked in Medicare for more than 22 years, and the families who handle these decisions well start before the crisis. One honest call in October beats three rushed ones after a hospital discharge.

How we know all this: the Medicare On Main Data Desk frames every article with public data. Here that means Medicare.gov's PACE page and HopeWest PACE's own Who We Serve, Enrollment Process, What Is HopeWest PACE? and Services pages, all read October 23, 2026, plus Beacon Senior News' September 2025 report on the program. Program names are factual reporting, not endorsement. Medicare On Main is not affiliated with HopeWest and does not sell or enroll anyone in PACE. This is education, not advice. Confirm eligibility and costs with HopeWest PACE, Health First Colorado or Medicare.gov, and compare Medicare plans with a licensed agent. We take no payment from any carrier or program to feature it.