Make America Healthy Again Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value-Based Approaches Through Evidence

The Make America Healthy Again: Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value-Based Approaches Through Evidence (MAHA ELEVATE) funding opportunity is a federally sponsored program issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), through its Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. This opportunity supports a three-year cooperative agreement model aiming to test whole-person functional and lifestyle medicine (FLM) interventions within the Original Medicare population. The initiative is part of CMS's broader effort to transform healthcare from a reactive, symptom-focused model to one that prioritizes prevention and upstream disease management. MAHA ELEVATE is grounded in evidence-based approaches that integrate physical activity, nutrition, behavioral health, and other lifestyle-based strategies to manage or prevent chronic disease, aligning with CMS’s 2025 strategic vision of promoting evidence-based prevention and empowering individuals to achieve their health goals. The program is designed to fund up to 30 recipients across two cohorts beginning in 2026 and 2027. Selected recipients may receive up to $3.3 million over three years, with awards issued as cooperative agreements to encourage active CMS involvement. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to implement and evaluate FLM interventions that are not currently covered under Medicare, including services like nutrition counseling, physical activity programming, stress management, and sleep hygiene education. Priority is given to evidence-backed proposals showing potential for cost savings and measurable improvements in patient outcomes. Applicants must identify a target chronic condition, describe their intervention, and provide supporting data from previous or ongoing programs as well as peer-reviewed literature. Interventions must include at least one non-covered Medicare service and incorporate nutrition or physical activity as a required component. CMS requires robust evaluation and monitoring. Applicants must collect and submit detailed data, including Medicare identifiers, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction metrics. Randomization of participants into treatment and control groups is preferred to enable rigorous impact measurement. CMS will provide technical assistance and expects recipients to participate in learning collaboratives and submit quarterly progress reports. Programs will be evaluated based on their ability to improve health outcomes, reduce costs, and reduce reliance on emergency and acute care. The funding is milestone-based, with disbursements tied to operational achievements and beneficiary recruitment thresholds. Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizations, such as health systems, private practices, academic centers, federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, Indian Health Services, community-based organizations, and governmental agencies. Applicants must demonstrate clinical oversight capabilities and either be enrolled in Medicare or partner with a Medicare-enrolled clinical entity. Additionally, organizations must have data collection capabilities and experience delivering the proposed intervention with demonstrated improvements in health and cost outcomes. Applicants must also show they can recruit a minimum number of Original Medicare beneficiaries to complete the program and provide a plan for monitoring patient safety and data privacy. The application process includes a required Letter of Intent (LOI) due by April 10, 2026, and a full application submission deadline of May 15, 2026. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov and must include a project narrative, budget narrative, outcome and logic models, partnership documents (if applicable), and other supporting materials. CMS will host a pre-application webinar on March 25, 2026. Selected applicants will be notified around October 2026, with the first cohort’s period of performance beginning in the same month. MAHA ELEVATE is a recurring opportunity and represents an important investment in proactive, patient-centered healthcare. CMS anticipates this model will build the evidence base for future Medicare coverage of whole-person FLM services. The funding opportunity reflects CMS’s commitment to improving chronic disease outcomes and reducing unnecessary healthcare spending through innovation, evaluation, and system transformation.

CMS scoring emphasizes strong evidence, clear cost savings plan, randomization preference, and prior program performance. Avoid template reuse.