In this guide 4 sections
Families researching help for an aging parent meet both terms within the first hour and rarely get a straight answer about the difference. The professions overlap in what they care about, an older adult living as well and safely as possible, and differ sharply in what they do, how they are paid and when each is the right call. This is the straight answer.
Side by side
Geriatric care manager vs. care navigator
Who they are
- Geriatric care manager
- Licensed professional, usually MSW/LCSW or RN, often certified through the Aging Life Care Association or NACCM
- Care navigator (Navigate Care)
- Trained care coordinator (nursing, social work or community health background) working under a Medicare-enrolled practitioner
Core work
- Geriatric care manager
- Comprehensive assessment; care plan; arranging and supervising services including private caregivers; placement; crisis management; family mediation; often acting as the family’s local eyes
- Care navigator (Navigate Care)
- Coordinating appointments, referrals, medications, equipment, benefits, transportation, home support and care-team communication; following up until each piece happens; keeping the family informed
How delivered
- Geriatric care manager
- Often in person: home visits, accompanying to appointments, facility visits
- Care navigator (Navigate Care)
- Phone and video, working with the local providers and agencies; in-person support where available
Who pays
- Geriatric care manager
- The family, privately. Rarely covered by insurance; some long-term care policies reimburse
- Care navigator (Navigate Care)
- Medicare Part B (Community Health Integration or Principal Illness Navigation). Deductible and 20% coinsurance, usually covered by Medigap or Medicaid. $0 for most patients
Typical cost
- Geriatric care manager
- $150–$250/hour; initial assessment $300–$800; ongoing 2–10+ hours/month
- Care navigator (Navigate Care)
- $0 for most; a modest monthly coinsurance for Original Medicare alone
Duration
- Geriatric care manager
- As long as the family pays; often years
- Care navigator (Navigate Care)
- Month to month while it helps; ongoing
Eligibility
- Geriatric care manager
- Anyone who can pay
- Care navigator (Navigate Care)
- Medicare patients with practical barriers to care or a serious illness
Best for
- Geriatric care manager
- Placement decisions; hiring and supervising private caregivers; family conflict needing a licensed mediator; long-distance families wanting an in-person local professional; complex situations needing a full assessment
- Care navigator (Navigate Care)
- Care plans falling through the cracks; missed appointments and referrals; equipment and benefits paperwork; post-hospital coordination; families overwhelmed by the logistics; keeping a parent home
Limits
- Geriatric care manager
- Cost over time; availability outside metro areas; not a medical provider
- Care navigator (Navigate Care)
- Medicare eligibility required; does not supervise private caregivers or provide in-person oversight in all areas; does not provide hands-on care or legal representation
| Geriatric care manager | Care navigator (Navigate Care) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who they are | Licensed professional, usually MSW/LCSW or RN, often certified through the Aging Life Care Association or NACCM | Trained care coordinator (nursing, social work or community health background) working under a Medicare-enrolled practitioner |
| Core work | Comprehensive assessment; care plan; arranging and supervising services including private caregivers; placement; crisis management; family mediation; often acting as the family’s local eyes | Coordinating appointments, referrals, medications, equipment, benefits, transportation, home support and care-team communication; following up until each piece happens; keeping the family informed |
| How delivered | Often in person: home visits, accompanying to appointments, facility visits | Phone and video, working with the local providers and agencies; in-person support where available |
| Who pays | The family, privately. Rarely covered by insurance; some long-term care policies reimburse | Medicare Part B (Community Health Integration or Principal Illness Navigation). Deductible and 20% coinsurance, usually covered by Medigap or Medicaid. $0 for most patients |
| Typical cost | $150–$250/hour; initial assessment $300–$800; ongoing 2–10+ hours/month | $0 for most; a modest monthly coinsurance for Original Medicare alone |
| Duration | As long as the family pays; often years | Month to month while it helps; ongoing |
| Eligibility | Anyone who can pay | Medicare patients with practical barriers to care or a serious illness |
| Best for | Placement decisions; hiring and supervising private caregivers; family conflict needing a licensed mediator; long-distance families wanting an in-person local professional; complex situations needing a full assessment | Care plans falling through the cracks; missed appointments and referrals; equipment and benefits paperwork; post-hospital coordination; families overwhelmed by the logistics; keeping a parent home |
| Limits | Cost over time; availability outside metro areas; not a medical provider | Medicare eligibility required; does not supervise private caregivers or provide in-person oversight in all areas; does not provide hands-on care or legal representation |
When you need a geriatric care manager
- You are deciding whether your parent can stay home or needs to move, and you want a professional assessment, not a family argument.
- You are hiring private caregivers and need someone to supervise them, handle problems and cover gaps.
- The family cannot agree and needs a licensed professional to assess, mediate and recommend.
- You live far away and want an experienced local professional who can go to the house, the hospital and the facility and tell you what they see.
- The situation is complex across health, housing, finances, legal and family dimensions, and someone needs to hold the whole picture.
- Your parent does not have Medicare, or the problem is not one Medicare navigation covers.
When you need a care navigator
- The plan exists and keeps not happening: referrals unbooked, follow-ups missed, equipment stuck, home health that never called.
- Your parent has multiple doctors who do not talk to each other, and the medication list changes at every visit.
- A hospital discharge is coming or just happened.
- Practical barriers, rides, cost, food, home safety, are getting in the way of medical care.
- You suspect your parent qualifies for benefits nobody has applied for.
- You are the family coordinator and the phone calls are eating your life.
- Cost matters. A navigator is $0 for most Medicare patients; a care manager is not.
Finding a care manager
The Aging Life Care Association directory (aginglifecare.org) lists members by zip code with their credentials and specialties. Ask about licensure, certification, experience with your parent’s conditions, hourly rate and assessment fee, availability for emergencies, and references. Hospital social workers and elder-law attorneys often know the good ones locally. Availability is thin outside metropolitan areas, which is one of the reasons phone-and-video navigation exists.
Questions families ask
What does a geriatric care manager do?
Assesses an older adult’s health, safety, home, finances and support; builds a comprehensive care plan; arranges and supervises services including private caregivers; helps with placement decisions; manages crises; mediates family disagreements; and often serves as the family’s local professional presence. They are licensed clinicians, usually social workers or nurses, hired privately at $150 to $250 an hour.
Does Medicare cover a geriatric care manager?
No. Geriatric care management is private pay. Some long-term care insurance policies reimburse it. Medicare does cover care navigation under Community Health Integration and Principal Illness Navigation for eligible patients, which overlaps with the coordination part of what care managers do.
Is a care navigator the same as an Aging Life Care professional?
No. Aging Life Care professionals are geriatric care managers: licensed clinicians doing assessment, planning, supervision and placement, paid by the family. Care navigators coordinate medical and practical care over time, by phone and video, and are paid by Medicare for eligible patients. The work overlaps in coordination; it differs in scope, delivery and who pays.
Can we use both a care manager and Navigate Care?
Yes, and some families do: the care manager for assessment, placement, caregiver supervision and family meetings; Navigate Care for the ongoing coordination of appointments, medications, equipment, benefits and follow-ups. Each keeps the other’s workload down. We coordinate with care managers when a family has one.
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