What Is a Geriatric Care Manager
A geriatric care manager is a licensed professional, typically a registered nurse (RN) or master's-level social worker, who assesses an older adult's physical, cognitive, and social needs, then coordinates a comprehensive care plan to address them. They act as the central point of contact between your loved one, family members, healthcare providers, and service vendors like home health aides and Medicaid agencies.
Most geriatric care managers hold credentials through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) or the Certification of Care Managers (CCM) program. They charge between $75 and $150 per hour for assessment and ongoing coordination, though some specialize in working with Medicaid-covered populations and charge sliding-scale fees.
Core Responsibilities
A geriatric care manager's work focuses on five practical areas:
- Assessment of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): They evaluate your loved one's ability to bathe, dress, toilet, transfer, and feed themselves, then recommend appropriate help like home health aides for 2-4 hours daily or live-in care depending on limitations.
- Care Plan Development: They create a written plan detailing medical needs, medication management, meal prep, transportation, and social engagement. This document guides any hired help and becomes essential if Medicare or Medicaid audits the case.
- Provider Coordination: They hire, train, and oversee home health aides, coordinate with doctors and therapists, and handle scheduling conflicts or quality issues with service providers.
- Benefits Navigation: They determine eligibility for Medicare coverage (which covers skilled nursing and therapy but not personal care) and Medicaid long-term care services (which covers up to 100% of home care costs in most states). They manage the application process and recertification paperwork.
- Crisis Management and Respite Coverage: When a primary caregiver (usually you, the adult child) needs respite care or faces an emergency, they arrange temporary backup aides or short-term facilities to prevent care gaps.
When You Should Hire One
Geriatric care managers become essential when managing care shifts from part-time concern to full-time responsibility. Hire one if your parent lives alone and has three or more chronic conditions (diabetes, heart disease, dementia), requires multiple medications daily, or receives ongoing home health aide assistance. They're particularly valuable if your loved one refuses to move to assisted living but needs increasing help with ADLs, or if family caregivers live out of state and need local coordination.
If your parent qualifies for Medicaid, some Area Agencies on Aging provide care managers at no cost, though availability varies by state. Check your local Area Agency on Aging website to see if this service is covered before paying out of pocket.
Common Questions
- Does Medicare pay for a geriatric care manager? No. Medicare covers skilled nursing and therapy coordination through your doctor, but not care management fees. Medicaid long-term care waivers in some states reimburse care managers, so check with your state's Medicaid office first.
- How often do they visit? Most perform a comprehensive assessment (2-3 hours), then monthly in-person visits for ongoing monitoring. They handle phone calls and coordination between visits at no additional charge. More frequent visits cost extra.
- Can they hire and manage home health aides? Yes. This is one of their primary functions. They conduct background checks, establish pay rates (typically $16-$25 per hour depending on location), create job descriptions covering specific ADL assistance, and handle payroll or work with home care agencies that employ the aides directly.