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A KFF Health News report describes how aging life care managers help older adults and families coordinate care, handle paperwork and respond to urgent changes. The independent professionals can provide ongoing support, but association members charge $150 to $350 an hour, and many families learn about the service only during a crisis.
A KFF Health News report describes how aging life care managers help families coordinate medical, housing and support needs for older adults, often when relatives are overwhelmed or a crisis is unfolding. The independent professionals can manage tasks from benefits paperwork to arranging care, but their services are typically billed by the hour and many families say they did not know the profession existed until they needed help.
The report follows Kristin Martinelli, an aging life care manager with Mir Care Consultants in Central Texas, as she handled an urgent situation involving an 85-year-old woman with advanced dementia. The woman was due to move into a secure memory care unit, but when a doctor could not complete required paperwork on time, Martinelli sought a caregiver to keep her safe at home in the interim. “I begged them to provide me with a caregiver in the next four hours,” she said.
Aging life care managers coordinate services rather than provide hands-on care. The report says they may arrange moves, work with Medicare or Medicaid, accompany clients to appointments, recommend local providers and check in regularly. They can also alert relatives when a client’s circumstances change and help mediate disagreements among family members.
The profession’s association, the Aging Life Care Association, has more than 2,000 members, according to the report. Association CEO Julie Wagner said members’ hourly rates range from $150 to $350, with prices varying by location. The report gives examples of $185 an hour at Martinelli’s practice and $210 an hour at a Washington-area practice.
Support When Elder Care Becomes Urgent
The report highlights a service that may help families manage the complicated work of supporting an older relative: coordinating appointments, housing, benefits and in-home assistance while keeping relatives informed. That work can become especially difficult when family members live far away, have jobs or discover serious needs during a sudden hospital stay or visit.
Independence is a central distinction described in the report. Aging life care managers work for the client and the family paying them, rather than a hospital or insurer. The association’s code of ethics bars members from taking or paying referral fees and kickbacks. That arrangement is different from senior-living referral companies that may receive fees from facilities; readers can ask any adviser how the service is funded and whether recommendations are tied to financial relationships.
Cost can limit access. At the cited rates, even recurring visits may add up, though some families divide the expense and some local social service agencies offer care management on a sliding scale. The report does not establish how widely those lower-cost options are available.
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How Care Managers Enter the Picture
The professionals were formerly known as geriatric care managers and adopted the name aging life care managers about a decade ago, according to the report. Many enter the field as nurses or social workers; others come from physical or occupational therapy or gerontology. Certification requires a specified combination of advanced education and supervised experience before an exam.
Although the association dates to the 1980s and now has more than 2,000 members, public awareness remains a challenge. Susy Elder Murphy, who runs Aging Well Eldercare in the Washington, D.C., area, said callers often tell her, “I wish I could have called you six months ago, but I didn’t know you existed.” The association says adult children are typically the ones who call.
The report also distinguishes care managers from professionals with similar-sounding titles, such as senior care advisers and care navigators. Its account emphasizes that a care manager’s role is to coordinate and advise for the client, not to provide direct caregiving or sell a facility placement.
“I wish I could have called you six months ago, but I didn’t know you existed.”
— Susy Elder Murphy, owner of Aging Well Eldercare
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Costs and Access Vary by Area
The report provides example hourly rates and describes some sliding-scale services, but it does not detail how many families use care managers, how often clients receive support or what share of costs may be covered by public programs or insurance. It also does not give a complete comparison of outcomes for families who hire a care manager and those who do not.
A 2025 survey of clients and families commissioned by the association is mentioned in the supplied source, but the material ends before reporting its findings. No conclusions from that survey can be drawn from the available information. Local service availability, rates and eligibility for reduced-cost assistance may differ.
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Finding Local, Independent Help
Families seeking this kind of support can contact the Aging Life Care Association to look for professionals in their area, then ask about credentials, experience with their relative’s needs, hourly charges, minimums and availability for urgent requests. They can also ask directly whether the professional receives referral payments; the association’s code prohibits those arrangements for its members.
The source report does not announce a new program or policy change, and it identifies no scheduled next milestone. For now, the issue it documents is practical: families may need to compare local options and costs before a crisis, while confirming what services are available and who pays for them.
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Key Questions
What does an aging life care manager do?
An aging life care manager coordinates support for an older adult. Depending on the client’s needs, the work can include arranging a move, helping with benefits paperwork, accompanying someone to appointments, recommending local services and updating relatives.
How much do aging life care managers charge?
The report says members of the Aging Life Care Association charge between $150 and $350 an hour, with geographic variation. It cites rates of $185 an hour in Central Texas and $210 an hour in the Washington area.
Are care managers the same as hands-on caregivers?
No. The report describes aging life care managers as coordinators and advisers, not hands-on caregivers. They may help arrange in-home care, but the caregiver provides the direct assistance.
How are independent care managers different from senior-living referral companies?
According to the report, care managers work for the client and paying family, and association members are barred from referral fees and kickbacks. Some senior-living referral companies receive fees from facilities for sending prospective residents, so families can ask any service how it is compensated.
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