The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced April 16, 2026 that the opportunity to submit a mandatory letter of intent (LOI) for the first year of grants for the “Making America Healthy Again: Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value‑based Approaches Through Evidence” (MAHA ELEVATE) $100M grant opportunity has closed. This communication also clarified that there will be a separate, mandatory LOI for the second application period in 2027.

The opportunity to participate was announced by CMS’ Innovation Center in March, providing aging services providers with an opportunity to strengthen their leadership in this space.

The April 16 information is good news as it means that organizations who missed submitted the LOI will still be eligible to apply for the 2027 grants.

According to the ELEVATE information, we expect the 2027 LOI and application period to follow a similar timeline to 2026, with applications due in mid-May. LeadingAge members interested in applying in the second round should review the 2026 funding opportunity information to begin preparing for the 2027 process. Also of note, of the 30 grants to be awarded, three are specifically set aside for dementia care proposals.

The Notice of Funding Opportunity, fact sheets, FAQs and templates can be found on the ELEVATE Model webpage.