CMS Unveils New Model Aimed At Functional, Lifestyle Medicine

The Trump administration has introduced a new Medicare payment model that could, for the first time, extend coverage to functional and lifestyle medicine providers. The model—called MAHA ELEVATE (Make America Healthy Again: Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value-based Approaches Through Evidence)—will offer $100 million in funding for up to 30 proposals focused on prevention, health promotion, and improving quality of life over three-year agreements. CMS emphasized that these services are designed to supplement, not replace, conventional medical care for Medicare beneficiaries.

Abe Sutton, director of the CMS Innovation Center, said the goal is to “empower people with Medicare to lead healthier lives” by addressing nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress, and other lifestyle factors. Programs funded under MAHA ELEVATE will test new preventive and integrative care approaches at no additional cost to beneficiaries. CMS will issue the first funding opportunity in early 2026, with a full model launch planned for September of that year. Insights from the model will inform future Medicare coverage decisions and guide the development of additional CMMI initiatives.

The announcement follows CMS’s new ACCESS model supporting technology-enabled chronic care, signaling a broader shift toward innovation-friendly Medicare policies. The National Association of ACOs welcomed MAHA ELEVATE, noting it will help generate much-needed evidence for preventive and integrative services that traditional Medicare doesn’t currently cover. The Primary Care Collaborative also expressed support, saying the model represents a long-overdue shift toward incentives that promote health rather than volume-based services.