PACE Is Coming to Volusia and Flagler: Where Beacon of Life Stands

What is PACE?

PACE, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, is a Medicare and Medicaid program that takes over a participant's entire care: doctor visits, specialists, prescriptions, therapy, a day center, home care, transportation, hospital and, when needed, nursing home care. One interdisciplinary team plans and delivers all of it, usually from a center the participant attends several days a week.

It is designed to keep people who qualify for a nursing home living in the community, and it works best for people with several chronic conditions whose care is fragmented.

Where does Beacon of Life stand?

AHCA's facility locator now also lists an adult day care license for Beacon of Life Florida LLC D/B/A Boldage PACE in Holly Hill (capacity 75), which fits the report's note that the program's center was being readied.

Source: AHCA PACE Monthly Report, August 2026; AHCA facility locator retrieved November 6, 2026.

Who will be eligible?

Under Florida's rules a participant must be 55 or older, meet nursing facility level of care, live in the approved service area, and be able to live safely in the community when enrolling. People with both Medicare and Medicaid pay nothing; people with Medicare only can join by paying the Medicaid portion privately.

Joining PACE means using the program's doctors and network. For some families that is a welcome simplification; for others, leaving a long-time doctor is a deal-breaker.

What should families do while waiting?

Do not put off help that is needed now. Ask ElderSource (1-888-242-4464) for a screening for Florida Medicaid long-term care, which places eligible applicants on the priority list for home and community-based services. Being enrolled in a Medicaid long-term care plan does not prevent switching to PACE later.

Adult day care is available now: AHCA lists 5 licensed adult day care centers in the two counties, and Medicaid long-term care plans can pay for adult day care for enrollees.

How is PACE different from what families use now?

Today, an older adult in Volusia or Flagler who qualifies for Medicaid long-term care typically has a Medicare plan for medical care, a separate Medicaid long-term care plan for help at home or in assisted living, and a patchwork of doctors, pharmacies, home health agencies and transport services that rarely talk to each other. Family members often become the coordinators by default, making calls, carrying medication lists and filling gaps.

PACE replaces that patchwork with one organization that is financially responsible for every service. Because the program pays for hospital stays and nursing home care too, it has a strong incentive to prevent them, which is why PACE teams see participants often, adjust medications quickly and send help home before a small problem becomes an emergency. For families who have been acting as full-time care coordinators, that can be the biggest change of all.

The trade-offs are real: participants must use the PACE organization's doctors and contracted providers, and most attend the day center several times a week. For people who are attached to long-time physicians, or who live far from the center, the conventional route may still fit better.

Families who think PACE may suit a parent can prepare now: gather a current medication list and recent medical records, confirm Medicare and Medicaid status, and talk with the parent's doctors about the possibility of changing care teams. When enrollment opens, applicants go through a home visit and an assessment, and those who are ready move through the process faster.

How will we know when PACE opens?

AHCA publishes a PACE report every month listing each organization's status and enrollment by county. When Beacon of Life is shown as operating in Volusia or Flagler, enrollment is open. We check the report monthly and will update our PACE page and this guide.

Read more on PACE in Volusia and Flagler and how PACE compares with a Medicaid long-term care plan.