Compare your options
Seven ways to get help. Including the ones we lose to.
Families researching help for a parent are usually comparing a private advocate, a care manager, the hospital’s navigator, the free public programs and just doing it themselves. Here is how they differ on cost, who pays, what they cover and where they stop.
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Side by side · as of September 2026
The comparison.
| Navigate Care | Private patient advocate | Geriatric care manager | Hospital or clinic navigator | SHIP counselor | Area Agency on Aging | Doing it yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is | A dedicated navigator working under a Medicare-enrolled practitioner, coordinating across every doctor, agency and benefit | An independent professional (often RN, MSW or billing background) you hire directly | A licensed professional (usually social work or nursing) who assesses, plans and manages an older adult’s care | A nurse or lay navigator employed by the hospital, cancer center or practice | Trained volunteers in every state’s Health Insurance Assistance Program | Local public agencies funded under the Older Americans Act | You, usually an adult daughter, usually while working |
| Typical cost | $0 for most patients | $100–$250 / hour | $150–$250 / hour | $0 | $0 | $0 or sliding scale | $0 in cash |
| Who pays | Medicare Part B (+ secondary coverage) | The family, out of pocket | The family, out of pocket | The institution or Medicare | Federal and state government | Federal, state and local government | You |
| What it covers | Appointments, referrals, equipment, benefits, home support, care-team communication, everyday needs affecting health | Whatever you contract for: bill audits, appeals, appointment attendance, research, care coordination | Comprehensive assessment, care planning, placement help, hiring and supervising caregivers, family mediation | Care delivered by that institution: treatment scheduling, education, internal referrals | Medicare choices: plan comparison, enrollment windows, Extra Help applications, appeals guidance | Meals, rides, respite, home-safety programs, benefits screening, caregiver support | Everything |
| How long | Ongoing, month to month, for as long as it helps | Per project or retainer; most families stop when the budget runs out | Ongoing, often for years | For the episode of care at that institution | Per question or appointment | Ongoing access to programs; waitlists common | Indefinite |
| Best for | Medicare patients whose practical challenges are getting in the way of care, and the families coordinating for them | Discrete, high-stakes problems, or a dispute with the health system itself where total independence matters | Complex situations with placement decisions, family conflict or a need for in-person oversight of paid caregivers | Active treatment at one center, especially cancer | Choosing or changing coverage; understanding a specific Medicare rule | Community services and caregiver support in your county | Simple situations with one doctor and no barriers |
| Limits | Medicare eligibility required. Does not provide medical care or represent patients in legal disputes. Works alongside, not against, your doctors. | Cost over a long illness. Unregulated profession; quality varies. Check credentials (BCPA) and references. | Expensive over time. Availability thin outside metro areas. | Stops at the institution’s door. Does not follow you to other doctors, the home or the pharmacy. | Counseling, not coordination. Will not make your calls, schedule your appointments or follow up on your care. | Provides programs, not a person. You still coordinate the doctors, the equipment and the follow-ups. | Burnout, missed follow-ups, readmissions. No one to call when you do not know the next step. |
Ranges, not quotes. Private rates vary by market and credentials. Medicare cost-sharing depends on the patient’s deductible status and secondary coverage.
Our honest take on each one.
Private patient advocate
$100–$250 / hour
Best for: Discrete, high-stakes problems, or a dispute with the health system itself where total independence matters.
Where it stops: Cost over a long illness. Unregulated profession; quality varies. Check credentials (BCPA) and references.
Flat-fee projects $500–$2,500; retainers $500–$2,000 a month; bill-dispute specialists sometimes take 20–35% of savings. Insurance generally does not reimburse.
Geriatric care manager
$150–$250 / hour
Best for: Complex situations with placement decisions, family conflict or a need for in-person oversight of paid caregivers.
Where it stops: Expensive over time. Availability thin outside metro areas.
Initial assessments commonly $300–$800. Ongoing management billed hourly or monthly. Rarely covered by insurance; some long-term care policies reimburse.
Hospital or clinic navigator
$0
Best for: Active treatment at one center, especially cancer.
Where it stops: Stops at the institution’s door. Does not follow you to other doctors, the home or the pharmacy.
Provided by the institution, or billed to Medicare as Principal Illness Navigation for qualifying serious illnesses.
SHIP counselor
$0
Best for: Choosing or changing coverage; understanding a specific Medicare rule.
Where it stops: Counseling, not coordination. Will not make your calls, schedule your appointments or follow up on your care.
Federally funded; no sales, no fees.
Area Agency on Aging
$0 or sliding scale
Best for: Community services and caregiver support in your county.
Where it stops: Provides programs, not a person. You still coordinate the doctors, the equipment and the follow-ups.
Most services free; some request a voluntary contribution.
Doing it yourself
$0 in cash
Best for: Simple situations with one doctor and no barriers.
Where it stops: Burnout, missed follow-ups, readmissions. No one to call when you do not know the next step.
Family caregivers average more than 20 hours a week; the AARP estimates unpaid caregiving is worth hundreds of billions a year nationally. The cost is time, income and health.
Navigate Care
$0 for most patients
Best for: Medicare patients whose practical challenges are getting in the way of care, and the families coordinating for them.
Where it stops: Medicare eligibility required. Does not provide medical care or represent patients in legal disputes. Works alongside, not against, your doctors.
Billed to Medicare Part B as Community Health Integration. After the Part B deductible, 20% coinsurance applies unless Medigap, Medicaid or retiree coverage pays it, which for about 9 in 10 patients it does. Cost confirmed before you start.
Medicare may cover Navigate Care.
Medicare Part B covers Community Health Integration services for eligible patients when everyday challenges are affecting their health or access to care.
Questions families ask
Is Navigate Care a patient advocate?
Not in the private-hire sense. A private advocate works only for you and bills you hourly. Navigate Care provides a dedicated navigator under a Medicare-enrolled practitioner, billed to Medicare Part B as Community Health Integration, so most patients pay nothing. The work overlaps heavily: appointments, referrals, equipment, benefits, follow-up. The difference is who pays and how long you can afford to keep it.
When should I hire a private advocate instead?
When your central problem is a dispute with the health system itself and you need someone who answers only to you, when you need in-person appointment attendance in an area we cannot cover, or when the patient does not have Medicare. We will tell you on the first call if one of those applies.
When is a geriatric care manager the right choice?
When the situation involves placement decisions, hiring and supervising private caregivers, or family conflict that needs a licensed professional to mediate, and the family can fund ongoing hourly fees. Some families use a care manager for those decisions and Navigate Care for the day-to-day coordination.
Can I use SHIP or my Area Agency on Aging and Navigate Care together?
Yes, and you should. SHIP answers coverage questions for free; your Area Agency on Aging runs the meals, rides and respite programs. Your navigator helps you use both and handles the coordination neither of them does.
How current is this comparison?
Figures were last reviewed in September 2026. Private advocate and care manager rates are ranges from public directories and professional associations; Medicare figures come from CMS and Medicare.gov. Sources are listed at the bottom of the page.
Guides
Read more about this
How much does a patient advocate cost?
Private advocates run $100 to $250 an hour, and nobody tells you that up front. Here's the real range, what drives it, what it's worth, and the versions that cost nothing.
What is a patient advocate, and do you need one?
A patient advocate is the person whose only job is your side of the healthcare system. Here's what they actually do all day — and the four different kinds, which are not the same thing.
Patient advocate vs patient navigator: what's the difference?
The two words describe nearly the same work, and people use them interchangeably. But the difference is real, it's about employment and scope, and it changes what you should ask for.
How to find a patient advocate you can trust
The title isn't regulated, so anyone can use it. Here's where to look, what credentials mean, the questions that separate the good ones — and the free options to exhaust first.
Does Medicare cover a patient advocate?
Medicare covers navigation services for eligible patients. Here is how to check whether that help fits your situation, what you might pay, and how to get started.
Community Health Integration: help when daily life gets in the way of care
Food access, transport, or your living situation can make a care plan hard to follow. Medicare may cover coordination to help address those barriers.
Sources
- CMS — Community Health Integration and Principal Illness Navigation (CY2024 Physician Fee Schedule)
- Medicare.gov — Part B costs (deductible and coinsurance)
- SHIP National Technical Assistance Center — find your state program
- Eldercare Locator — Area Agencies on Aging
- AARP / National Alliance for Caregiving — Caregiving in the U.S.
See also what Navigate Care costs and what you will see on your Medicare statement.
Whichever you choose, start by telling us what is happening.
Tell us what is happening. We will listen, check whether Navigate Care can help and explain the next step.
Or call 628 234 2273 (NAV-234-CARE). Free initial call. No obligation.