(a) General rule. The PACE organization must have a written contract with each outside organization, agency, or individual that furnishes administrative or care-related services not furnished directly by the PACE organization except for emergency services as described in §460.100.

(b) Contract requirements. A contract between a PACE organization and a contractor must meet the following requirements:

(1) The PACE organization must contract only with an entity that meets all applicable Federal and State requirements, including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) An institutional contractor, such as a hospital or skilled nursing facility, must meet Medicare or Medicaid participation requirements.

(ii) A practitioner or supplier must meet Medicare or Medicaid requirements applicable to the services it furnishes.

(iii) A contractor must comply with the requirements of this part with respect to service delivery, participant rights, and quality improvement activities.

(2) A contractor must be accessible to participants, located either within or near the PACE organization's service area.

(3) A PACE organization must designate an official liaison to coordinate activities between contractors and the organization.

(c) List of contractors. A current list of contractors must be on file at the PACE center and a copy must be provided to anyone upon request.

(d) Content of contract. Each contract must be in writing and include the following information:

(1) Name of contractor.

(2) Services furnished (including work schedule if appropriate).

(3) Payment rate and method.

(4) Terms of the contract, including beginning and ending dates, methods of extension, renegotiation, and termination.

(5) Contractor agreement to do the following:

(i) Furnish only those services authorized by the PACE interdisciplinary team.

(ii) Accept payment from the PACE organization as payment in full, and not bill participants, CMS, the State administering agency, or private insurers.

(iii) Hold harmless CMS, the State, and PACE participants if the PACE organization does not pay for services performed by the contractor in accordance with the contract.

(iv) Not assign the contract or delegate duties under the contract unless it obtains prior written approval from the PACE organization.

(v) Submit reports required by the PACE organization.

(6) With respect to an individual who is contracting as a program director or medical director or to be part of the interdisciplinary team as set forth at §460.60(a) and (b) and §460.102(b), the contract must specify that the individual agrees to:

(i) Perform all the duties related to its position as specified in this part.

(ii) Participate in interdisciplinary team meetings as required.

(iii) Be accountable to the PACE organization.

(iv) Cooperate with the competency evaluation program and direct participant care requirements specified in §460.71.

(e) Contracting with another entity to furnish PACE center services.

(1) A PACE organization may only contract for PACE center services if it is fiscally sound as defined in §460.80(a) of this part and has demonstrated competence with the PACE model as evidenced by successful monitoring by CMS and the State administering agency.

(2) The PACE organization retains responsibility for all participants and may only contract for the PACE Center services identified in §460.98(c).

[64 FR 66279, Nov. 24, 1999, as amended at 67 FR 61505, Oct. 1, 2002; 71 FR 71335, Dec. 8, 2006; 81 FR 80561, Nov. 15, 2016; 83 FR 16756, Apr. 16, 2018; 84 FR 25673, June 3, 2019]