Geriatric care manager marketing: fees and consent

A geriatric care manager, also called an aging life care manager, is hired when a family is worried and out of its depth: a parent is declining, siblings live far away, and nobody knows which services exist or how to pay for them. Families search for help in that state, and they read your site closely, looking for one thing: can this person be trusted with someone I love. Marketing for this work succeeds when it explains plainly what you do, who pays, whose side you are on and what you will never do.

Two related topics have their own guides and are not repeated here. Hands-on caregiving businesses, including placement services and referral sources, are covered in our non-medical home care marketing guide, and fair housing rules for senior living ads are covered in our guide to assisted living marketing ideas. This guide covers what is specific to care management practices. How a medical or dental practice can write ads for adult children, and what its staff may discuss with them, is in our guide to marketing to family caregivers. Families comparing life plan communities may meet claims about care for life; see CCRC marketing.

This is general information, not legal, financial or medical advice. Licensure, titles, referral agency rules and elder abuse reporting duties are set state by state. Sources cited were checked on October 30, 2026: the Medicare.gov pages Long-term care, Skilled nursing facility care, Home health services and Hospice care, the CFPB page Managing someone else’s money (page last modified June 25, 2026), the Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative pages (home page and Financial Exploitation), the Eldercare Locator from the Administration for Community Living, 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(b), 45 CFR 164.502(g), 45 CFR 164.510(b), 45 CFR 164.508, 15 U.S.C. 45, 16 CFR 255.2, 16 CFR 255.5 and the Google Ads restricted targeting policy for personalized advertising.

Say what the service is, and who pays for it

Care management sits between medical care and daily help, and families may not know where it starts and stops. A service page should name the work in plain words: assessing the older adult’s situation, building a care plan with the family, finding and checking local services, coordinating with doctors and agencies, attending appointments where asked, and checking in over time. Then it should say what you do not do. If no clinician on your team provides medical care, say so. If you do not provide hands-on care, say so and explain how you help a family find it.

Coverage is where families get hurt by vague copy. The Medicare.gov page on long-term care says Medicare does not pay for long-term care, which it describes as medical and non-medical care for people with a chronic illness or disability, and that Medicare Supplement Insurance does not pay for it either. It says a person may be eligible for long-term care through Medicaid if they meet the state’s requirements, or may buy private long-term care insurance. A private care management fee is a separate matter again, so a page should not suggest Medicare or any insurance will reimburse it unless you have confirmed that for the specific plan in writing.

Pages that set honest expectations say:

That care management is paid privately, and how: an hourly rate, an assessment fee, a monthly plan or a retainer.
What the first assessment includes, how long it takes and what the family receives at the end.
Whether you bill for travel, phone calls, emails and time spent waiting at appointments.
That Medicare does not pay for long-term care, with a link to the Medicare.gov page rather than your own summary of the rules.
That long-term care insurance and other benefits have their own terms, and that you can help a family read them but cannot promise payment.
How a family can end the service, and what happens to records and open tasks when they do.

Titles and credentials, set state by state

Check whether your state licenses or regulates care management itself, because that is set state by state. Team members may also hold licenses of their own, such as nurse or social worker, and those licenses come with title rules set state by state too. Certifications from private organizations are a different thing from a state license, and a reader cannot tell the difference unless you show it. Write each person’s license and certification next to their name, and use the exact title the license or certifying body uses.

Be careful with words that suggest a legal role. Guardian, conservator, trustee and agent under a power of attorney are appointed by a court, named in a document or set by state law. A page that offers to act as a family’s guardian or to take over a parent’s finances is describing a legal relationship, not a marketing service, and should only appear if you are qualified and permitted to serve in that role where you work. Under 15 U.S.C. 45, a title, bio or claim that leaves a reader with a false impression of your training, license or authority can be deceptive even when each word is technically accurate.

Whose side you are on: referral fees and independence

Families hire a care manager to get an independent view. That makes payments from the places you recommend a sensitive topic in your marketing. If an assisted living community, home care agency or other provider pays you when a family you advise moves in or signs up, the family needs to know before they rely on your recommendation. Rules for senior placement and referral agencies, including disclosure, contracts and licensing, are set state by state, so check yours before you accept any such fee.

Federal law adds a hard line when government health programs pay for the service. Under 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(b), the anti-kickback statute, knowingly and willfully soliciting or receiving any remuneration in return for referring an individual for an item or service that may be paid in whole or in part under a Federal health care program is a crime, and offering or paying such remuneration is too. Medicare.gov says Medicare covers skilled nursing facility care on a short-term basis, certain home health services and hospice care for people who are eligible, so a fee tied to referring a client to one of them needs legal review first. Our guide to patient and physician referrals explains the statute in more detail.

The endorsement rules reach your website too. 16 CFR 255.5 says that when a connection between an endorser and a seller might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement, and the audience would not expect it, the connection must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. A page of recommended communities or preferred agencies where any of them pays you, or where you own part of one, needs that disclosure on the page, not in a contract the family signs later.

The simplest position to market is the one families are looking for. If you take no fees from providers, say so in plain words, and keep that statement true.

Money: offer help without inviting suspicion

Care managers are asked to help with bills, benefits and paperwork, and some offer daily money management. That work needs the clearest copy on your site, because financial exploitation of older adults is a federal concern. The Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative page on financial exploitation describes two types: financial abuse committed by someone the older adult knows, and financial fraud committed by a stranger. Among the signs it lists are an agent who uses a power of attorney to take money or property for themself, and someone who acts as if they can speak for the older adult at a bank or business.

The CFPB guides on managing someone else’s money are written for four fiduciary roles: agents under a power of attorney, court-appointed guardians of property or conservators, trustees under revocable living trusts, and government fiduciaries appointed to manage benefits such as Social Security or Veterans Affairs payments. Linking to those guides from your money management page tells families you know the duties that come with handling someone else’s money.

A money management page that earns trust says:

Exactly which tasks you do, such as sorting mail, paying bills from the client’s own account and tracking benefits, and which you do not do, such as investment advice or tax preparation.
Whether you ever act as agent, trustee or representative payee, and if so, under what appointment.
That you never take ownership of a client’s accounts, become a joint owner, or accept gifts or loans from clients.
How the family or another named person reviews the records, and on what schedule.
Whether you carry bonding or insurance for this work, stated only if it is true and current.

A short safety section on your site is a service in itself. The Elder Justice Initiative page says to report financial abuse to the local Adult Protective Services agency, found through the Eldercare Locator, or to local police, and to report financial fraud to the National Elder Fraud Hotline. Reporting duties for professionals who suspect abuse are set state by state, so describe your own obligations only after checking them.

Clients coming home after a hospital stay for heart failure need a plan for daily weights, medicines and when to call. When a family asks how to judge a clinic’s website, our guide to heart failure clinic marketing shows what honest pages say about warning signs, monitoring and outcomes.

Families, consent and health information

Families are your buyers, but the older adult is your client, and your marketing should show that you know the difference. Intake forms, consultation calls and follow-up emails should ask who has legal authority to make decisions, record whether the older adult agrees to the family’s involvement, and explain what you will and will not share with whom.

When you coordinate with doctors and hospitals, HIPAA shapes what they can tell you and the family. Under 45 CFR 164.502(g), a covered entity must treat a person who has authority under applicable law to make health care decisions for an adult as that adult’s personal representative, for the information relevant to that role. Under 45 CFR 164.510(b), a covered entity may share with a family member, other relative, close friend or other person identified by the patient the information directly relevant to that person’s involvement in the patient’s care or payment for it. Copy that promises families you will get full access to a parent’s records overstates what either rule gives you.

Whether HIPAA applies to your practice itself depends on what you do and for whom, including whether you work for a covered entity under a business associate agreement. Either way, treat health details shared on your forms as sensitive, keep them out of ad and analytics tools, and say on the page how you protect them.

Stories, reviews and ad targeting

Family stories are the heart of care management marketing and carry the same limits as any endorsement. Under 16 CFR 255.2, an advertiser may not use a consumer endorsement that conveys a performance claim the advertiser could not substantiate if it made the claim directly. A quote saying “she would have died without them” or “they saved us thousands” makes a claim your practice could not make itself. If your practice works under HIPAA, using a client’s name, photo or story in marketing needs written authorization under 45 CFR 164.508(a)(3). Either way, ask the older adult, or the person with legal authority to act for them, before a story is used.

Google’s policy on restricted targeting in personalized advertising lists Health among its sensitive interest categories. Build search campaigns around what families type, such as geriatric care manager or elder care consultant near a city, and do not upload client or inquiry lists to ad tools. Ad copy should state the service and the area, make no promise about outcomes or savings, and never use fear about a parent’s safety as the hook.

Families who call a care manager may ask about falls. A care manager who points a client to a falls program should quote the source, not promise results, and send a client who has fallen and hit their head to a doctor right away; our guide to falls prevention program outreach covers the USPSTF recommendation, Medicare visits and free screenings.

Illustration: two ads for the same practice

Illustration: a practice runs an ad that reads “Worried about Mom? Our certified elder care experts will take over her care and finances, get Medicare to cover it, and place her in the best community at no cost to you.” It leans on fear, offers to take over finances without naming any legal role, implies Medicare coverage, and hides the fact that no cost to the family means a community is paying.

Illustration: the practice rewrites it as “[Practice name]: geriatric care management in [area]. [Name], [license], assesses your parent’s needs, builds a care plan with your family and coordinates local services. Private pay, hourly rates posted. We take no fees from providers.” It names the person and license, describes the work, states who pays and makes an independence claim the practice keeps true.

Checklist before a care management campaign goes live

Service pages say what you do and do not do, including whether any team member provides medical or hands-on care.
Fees and payment terms are posted, and no page implies Medicare or insurance will pay for care management.
Each team member’s license and certifications appear next to their name, using the exact title.
No page offers a legal role such as guardian or trustee unless you are qualified and permitted to serve in it.
Any fee or ownership connection with a provider you recommend is disclosed on the page, and state referral agency rules have been checked.
Fees tied to referrals for services Medicare or Medicaid may pay have had legal review under the anti-kickback statute.
Money management pages name the tasks, the review process and the things you never do.
A safety section points to Adult Protective Services, the Eldercare Locator and the National Elder Fraud Hotline.
Family stories make no claim you could not support yourself, and the older adult or their legal representative agreed to each one.
Ads target search terms, not health interests or client lists, and inquiry details stay out of ad tools.

How we help

We build websites, local search, Google Ads and AI front desk tools for independent practices and health businesses. For a care management practice, that means service pages that state your work, fees and independence in plain words, Business Profiles and listings that match each team member’s credentials, and inquiry forms that keep family and health details away from tracking tools. We do not decide licensure, referral agreements or legal roles; your counsel and your state’s rules do. Our tools are built with HIPAA in mind. We confirm in writing what a BAA covers before any patient information flows through a tool, and if it is not covered, we do not route patient information through it. We are not a healthcare provider and we do not give legal or medical advice. We do not sell lead lists and we do not pay for referrals. For the wider rules, see our healthcare marketing rules hub.

Does Medicare pay for a geriatric care manager?

Medicare.gov says Medicare does not pay for long-term care, and private care management is paid by the family or the client. Do not suggest Medicare or insurance will reimburse your fee unless you have confirmed it for the specific plan in writing.

Can a care manager accept referral fees from assisted living communities or home care agencies?

Referral agency rules are set state by state, and the anti-kickback statute applies when the service may be paid by a federal health care program. If you accept any fee, disclose it to families and on any page that recommends providers, and get legal review first.

Is geriatric care manager a licensed title?

Whether care management itself is licensed is set state by state. Team members may hold state licenses, such as nurse or social worker, with their own title rules, and private certifications are separate from licenses. Show each one next to the person’s name.

Can we advertise money management services?

Yes, if the page names the exact tasks, says whether you ever act as agent, trustee or representative payee and under what appointment, and explains how the family reviews the records. Link to the CFPB guides on managing someone else’s money.

Can doctors share a parent’s information with us or the family?

A covered entity must treat a person with legal authority to make health care decisions as the patient’s personal representative, and may share relevant information with family or others the patient identifies. Do not promise full access to records.

Where should our site tell families to report suspected financial abuse?

The Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative points to local Adult Protective Services through the Eldercare Locator, local police, and the National Elder Fraud Hotline for fraud.

Sources

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Geriatric care manager marketing: private pay, referral fees, money roles and family consent