What Is a Geriatric Care Manager and How to Get One Covered by Medicare
A geriatric care manager is who your family calls when coordinating your parent's care starts to feel like a second job. They handle the medical appointments, insurance paperwork, medication logistics, and crisis calls. So you can go back to being a daughter, a son, a spouse. Not a case manager.
At a glance
A geriatric care manager coordinates your parent's full care picture
Private care managers cost $150–300/hr — Hera is covered by Medicare
90% of Hera clients pay $0 out of pocket
All Hera Heroes are licensed social workers or registered nurses
On this page
The catch: most private geriatric care managers charge $150 to $300 per hour, with initial assessments running $500 to $1,500 or more. That prices out the vast majority of families who actually need this help.
At Hera, we pair families with dedicated geriatric social workers—we call them Heroes—who do exactly this work. The difference is that our services get billed directly to Original Medicare through Chronic Care Management (CCM) and Principal Care Management (PCM) codes. About 90% of our clients pay nothing out of pocket.
What Does a Geriatric Care Manager Do?
A geriatric care manager coordinates the moving parts of elder care that no single doctor, family member, or agency can handle alone. Here is what that looks like in practice.
Medical coordination
Your parent probably sees a primary care physician, a cardiologist, a neurologist, maybe an orthopedist. A geriatric care manager keeps these providers in sync — sharing notes between offices, flagging conflicting treatment plans, and making sure nothing slips through the cracks after a specialist visit.
At Hera, our Heroes work directly with physicians from leading institutions like Weill Cornell, NYU Langone, Mount Sinai.
Medication oversight
Medication errors are one of the leading causes of emergency hospitalizations in older adults. A geriatric care manager reviews the full medication list, checks for dangerous interactions, and coordinates with pharmacies to simplify the daily routine.
Hera sets up pre-sorted blister packs so each dose is organized by day and time. No more guessing whether Mom took her morning pills.
Insurance and benefits navigation
Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Medigap — the system wasn't designed to be easy. A geriatric care manager helps families figure out what their parent qualifies for and actually get enrolled. That includes Medicaid applications, SCRIE rent freeze for NYC seniors, SNAP food benefits, and HEAP energy assistance. These programs save families thousands of dollars a year, but the application process is notoriously difficult without a guide.
Home safety and services
When a parent needs help at home — a home health aide, physical therapy, grab bars in the bathroom, a wheelchair ramp — a geriatric care manager identifies what is needed, vets providers, and coordinates the setup. They know which agencies are reliable and which ones to avoid.
Crisis response
A fall. A hospitalization. A sudden cognitive decline. These moments are when families feel the most overwhelmed and the least equipped to make decisions. A geriatric care manager steps in immediately — managing hospital discharge planning, coordinating post-acute care, arranging short-term rehab, and making sure the transition home is safe. They already know your parent's full medical history, so nothing starts from scratch.
Family communication
Siblings disagree. Long-distance family members feel out of the loop. A geriatric care manager serves as the single source of truth — providing regular updates, facilitating family conversations about care decisions, and keeping everyone aligned without the emotional friction that comes from doing it alone.
Geriatric Care Manager vs. Social Worker vs. Care Coordinator
These titles get used interchangeably, but they describe very different levels of service. Here is how they compare.
Geriatric Care Manager | Hospital Social Worker | Insurance Care Coordinator | |
Ongoing relationship | Yes — works with your family for months or years | No — typically involved only during a hospital stay | Varies — often rotates or handles large caseloads |
Scope | Full-spectrum: medical, financial, legal, home safety, family dynamics | Focused on discharge planning and immediate post-hospital needs | Limited to insurance-covered services and utilization review |
Cost | $150–$300/hr if paying privately; $0 through Medicare with Hera | Free (part of hospital services) | Free (part of insurance plan) |
Who provides it | Licensed social workers, registered nurses, or aging life care professionals | Hospital-employed social workers | Insurance company employees |
Proactive vs. reactive | Proactive — anticipates needs before they become emergencies | Reactive — activated by a hospital event | Reactive — responds to claims and authorizations |
The biggest distinction: hospital social workers and insurance care coordinators are designed around episodes. They help during a crisis, but aren’t able to do ongoing follow-up. A geriatric care manager builds a long-term relationship with your family and stays involved across every transition.
How Much Does a Geriatric Care Manager Cost?
Private geriatric care management is expensive. Here is what most families face.
Initial assessment: $500 to $1,500 or more for a comprehensive geriatric assessment. This typically includes a home visit, medical record review, and a written care plan.
Hourly rate: $150 to $300 per hour for ongoing care management, depending on geography and the care manager's credentials. In New York City, rates tend toward the higher end.
Monthly retainer: Some private practices charge $500 to $2,000 per month for a set number of hours, with additional hours billed separately.
Annual cost: For a family that needs 10 to 15 hours of care management per month — which is common for a parent with multiple chronic conditions — that adds up to $18,000 to $54,000 per year, all ot of pocket.
This is the gap Hera was built to close. Medicare's Chronic Care Management and Principal Care Management programs allow qualified providers to bill Medicare directly for the exact services a private geriatric care manager provides — ongoing care coordination, medication management, benefits navigation, crisis response, and family communication.
Because Hera is a Medicare-enrolled care management organization, roughly 90% of our clients pay $0 for services that would otherwise cost tens of thousands of dollars annually. The remaining 10% have a small copay, typically under $20 per month.
How to Find a Geriatric Care Manager
There are three main paths families take.
Option 1: Hire a private geriatric care manager
Private care managers offer the most flexibility — you choose who you work with. You can find credentialed care managers through referrals, your parent's physicians, or local aging services organizations. Look for someone with an LCSW, RN, or CMC credential.
The tradeoff is cost. Expect to pay the rates outlined above, with no insurance reimbursement. Medicare does not cover private geriatric care management, and most long-term care insurance policies do not either.
Option 2: Work with a hospital social worker
If your parent is currently hospitalized or recently discharged, the hospital's social work team can help with immediate next steps — arranging home health, identifying rehab facilities, and connecting you with community resources.
The limitation is that their involvement ends when the hospital stay ends. They manage transitions, not ongoing care. And they carry large caseloads, so the attention they can give any single family is limited.
Option 3: Get a dedicated care manager through Medicare CCM
This is what Hera provides. If your parent is on Original Medicare and has two or more chronic conditions — which includes the majority of adults over 65 — they likely qualify for Chronic Care Management. Under CCM, a dedicated care manager coordinates all aspects of their care on an ongoing basis, and Medicare covers the cost.
At Hera, that care manager is a licensed geriatric social worker or registered nurse. They know the local hospital systems, community programs, and government benefits specific to your state. And they stay with your family for as long as you need them.
To check if your parent qualifies, call us at the number above or fill out the form on this page. The eligibility check takes about five minutes.
Meet a Hera Hero
Every Hera client is paired with a dedicated Hero — a licensed geriatric social worker or registered nurse who manages their care full-time. Here are a few of the people behind the work.
Noni, Registered Nurse
Noni is a BSN-prepared registered nurse with deep experience across hospice, home health, acute care, case management, and clinical leadership. She specializes in guiding families through complex, high-stress transitions — the moments when care feels most fragmented. Her background includes staff training, quality oversight, and mentoring other nurses, which means she knows how to build reliable care teams and keep everyone aligned. Families work with Noni when they need someone who understands the clinical picture, can navigate the system, and won't let anything slip through the cracks.
Samantha, Geriatric Social Worker
Samantha is a licensed master social worker (LMSW) with 15 years working directly with older adults in care management. She started at a senior center in Brooklyn and moved through various care management agencies — many funded by NYC's Department for the Aging — before joining Hera. Samantha has navigated these systems personally too, supporting her own grandparents through their final years. That experience shapes everything she does: she knows families aren't just checking boxes, and she takes pride in work that reminds people they haven't been forgotten.
Amanda, Geriatric Social Worker
Amanda holds an MSW with a specialization in geriatrics. She's worked across hospice, palliative care, housing, skilled nursing, population health, and community-based care management. Amanda believes broken systems don't have to stay broken. She's here because Hera is building something different: care that's outcome-driven but never loses sight of the human being at the center.
What doctors say about working with Hera
"The Hera team has been an invaluable partner. There are so many elements of geriatric care that we simply don't learn how to navigate in medical school. My patients have received thoughtful guidance, exceptional coordination, and a truly comprehensive care plan."
Dr. Frey, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine — Weill Cornell Medicine
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifications should a geriatric care manager have?
Look for a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW/LMSW) or registered nurse (RN) with specific experience in elder care systems.
Certifications like Certified Care Manager (CCM) or membership in the Aging Life Care Association are good signals. At Hera, every Hero is a licensed geriatric social worker or registered nurse with hands-on experience navigating NYC's healthcare and benefits systems.
What is a comprehensive geriatric assessment?
A comprehensive geriatric assessment is a thorough evaluation of an older adult's medical, functional, psychological, and social needs.
It typically covers chronic conditions, medications, cognitive function, mobility, nutrition, home safety, and social support. At Hera, this happens during your parent's clinical assessment — a video visit with a Hera clinician who reviews the full picture before matching your family with a dedicated Hero.
Does Medicare cover geriatric care management?
Not directly — but Medicare does cover care management through the Chronic Care Management (CCM) program, which provides the same services.
Traditional private geriatric care managers charge $150–$300/hour out of pocket. Through CCM, Medicare covers a dedicated care manager for patients with 2+ chronic conditions. Hera provides this service — 90% of clients pay $0.
What is the difference between a geriatric care manager and a home health aide?
A geriatric care manager coordinates care — they assess needs, build care plans, manage medications, navigate insurance, and communicate with doctors and family. A home health aide provides hands-on physical assistance — helping with bathing, dressing, meals, and mobility. They are complementary roles, not interchangeable ones. A geriatric care manager often arranges and oversees home health aide services as part of the broader care plan.
Can a geriatric care manager help with Medicaid applications?
Yes. Medicaid applications are one of the most common and most complicated tasks a geriatric care manager handles. Eligibility rules vary by state, the paperwork is extensive, and mistakes can delay approval by months. At Hera, our Heroes guide families through the entire Medicaid application process for New York and New Jersey — gathering documentation, completing forms, and following up with caseworkers until the application is approved.
