Sage Ally

I recently had the privilege of meeting with an independent living community for seniors, and an interesting dynamic came up.

Independent living communities are generally built for seniors who are able to live on their own. But there's often a percentage of residents who, as they age or as circumstances change, start to need additional support.

We talked about how Sage Ally often steps in as a resource for communities like this, and how we could support this one: advocates and care managers who serve everyone, with extra attention for those who need more support. This is work we already do.

Best of all, because our services are covered by Medicare, this is financially sustainable and accessible to residents who might otherwise never be able to reach that kind of help.

If you're part of an independent living community or involved in managing one, I'd love to show you how Sage Ally could support yours. Please feel free to reach out.

A senior called us needing care at home, but they couldn't afford the cost of private pay personal care attendants.

Then they remembered something. Years back they had purchased a long term care insurance policy, and they were hoping to finally access that benefit to get the care they needed.

The problem? The policy required an elimination period, where the client would have to pay privately for their care before the covered benefit would kick in.

And that was the whole issue in the first place, they couldn't afford to pay out of pocket. So they were stuck, unable to access the care they desperately needed through the long term care insurance they had paid into all those years.

So they called us.

Their care manager made phone calls and spoke to their insurance agent on their behalf, and was able to have the elimination period waived by counting other covered expenses the client had already incurred and applying them toward it. That removed the obstacle the elimination period was creating.

Not only are our services covered by Medicare for eligible clients, we're also able to help them access a wealth of other benefits far beyond the Medicare programs they're entitled to.

A client called this week. They needed to apply for Medicaid because they could no longer afford their medical care.

But they didn't know where to start.

Finding the right professional. An elder care attorney they could actually afford. Figuring out which documents they'd need. Understanding emergency Medicaid. They were overwhelmed.

These calls are hard. There's real urgency, multiple clients who need our help, and a full caseload on top of it all.

But then you hear the relief in a senior's voice when they realize they have someone in their corner. Someone whose help is covered by Medicare.

That's what makes it worth pushing through another call, another connection, another fifteen minutes of research. Whatever it takes to make sure our seniors have what they need to stay home safely.

A client called us. Her insurance had recently changed and she needed to find new doctors.

She had 7 specialists to see, which meant finding them, finding ones that actually took her new insurance, figuring out transportation, and then understanding what these doctors were telling her so she could make the right decisions based on it.

She lives alone. She has a disability. It was simply too much.

She reached out to SageAlly. We paired her with an advocate to act as her care manager and helped her through the whole process of finding everyone she needed.

But the most helpful part? Making sure she felt like she had someone to turn to, someone in her corner who had her back.

A client reached out. Their father was starting to deteriorate, and the part-time aide they had wasn't enough anymore.

The problem? Figuring out how to get Medicaid coverage for full-time care, and finding an agency that could properly staff it. It was just too much for them to handle on their own.

So we got to work, made calls, connected them with experts, navigated the Medicaid appeals process, and researched the various home care agencies in the area that accepted Medicaid to find the right fit for our client.

For clients, it's always a careful decision to engage a service like SageAlly. Caring for our parents is something we want to make sure is being done by those we trust.

Ensuring we deliver on, and keep earning, the trust that families place with us is what keeps us going, all day, every day.

A client called. She'd gotten our number from a family member.

She was in her 70s,* living alone. Independent her whole life, a retired public school teacher. Her patience, wisdom, and grace were obvious from the first minute. But she was overwhelmed by a never-ending list of medical problems and diagnoses.

To make things worse, those conditions were starting to affect her ability to drive. Which brought a new problem: how was she supposed to get to the doctor's appointments she so badly needed?

The solution? Find doctors close by, so transportation wasn't such a burden.

The problem? They didn't all take her insurance.

The solution? Call her insurance company to find specialists nearby who were in-network.

The problem? The plan's directory was out of date. She'd show up for an appointment only to be told the doctor didn't take her insurance after all.

So we got to work. We researched local transportation options, then started calling specialists one by one to find ones who actually took her insurance and were close to home.

I don't have a happily-ever-after to share yet. We just started today, and we're still in it with her. But hearing from her, "The system is pulling me in a million different directions, but I know my SageAlly advocate is going to do what's right" makes it all worth it.

Serving seniors across NY and NJ, covered by Medicare.

A family member called us. His mother needed to see a neurologist for worsening symptoms, but he wasn't sure where to turn. He wanted a high level of care, but also didn't want to schlep too far, all without sacrificing the quality of care she needed.

The problem? He works full time (and then some) in a demanding job, with a 90-minute commute on public transportation, leaving him no time to make the calls: phoning doctors' offices to check availability and insurance coverage, getting recommendations, and then researching them.

So we got to work. We called referral sources, did the research, spoke to references, called the doctors' offices, and helped find an excellent specialist not too far from home.

It takes a lot of work and persistence, but knowing that our client is getting the care she needs makes it all worth it.

Serving NY and NJ. Covered by Medicare.

A patient reached out to us. Their spouse had just been discharged from a post-acute facility and was told she'd need multiple ongoing appointments.

They were worried about a simple but real question: how would she actually get to all of them?

So we got to work. We researched every government, local, and community resource available for medical transportation, and we worked with the patient's caregiver to put together a plan.

It took a lot of work on the patient advocate's end. Playing phone tag with community resources. Dealing with less-than-eager operators at government programs. But eventually, we got there.

And hearing the relief in the caregiver's and patient's voices, knowing they weren't alone in this, made it all worth it.

Serving seniors and their families in NY and NJ, covered by Medicare.

One of the challenges we deal with at Sage Ally is educating potential clients and referral partners about our Medicare covered patient advocacy and care management service.
This is a relatively new service, only covered by Medicare in the past few years, so people are understandably cautious, or even a little skeptical.
Is this real? Why haven't I heard of this before? Why isn't everyone doing this?
All fair questions.
The answer is that these programs are new. Medicare is constantly developing and adjusting programs to support and reimburse for these kinds of services.
So why isn't everyone doing it? Because while the Medicare coverage is an important first step, the reimbursement is still quite low. Unless there is real passion and belief in the mission, the reimbursement alone isn't enough to drive adoption.
But even with all that, educating people about a new service available for their patients is still a challenge.
So I'm curious. What have you seen work when it comes to educating people about new services and new categories of programs?

A client called us recently both sure and unsure at the same time.

Sure that they needed a home health attendant / personal care assistant.

Unsure of how to actually find one.

So we got to work.

We started with an assessment to understand three things: what the client truly needed, what they were eligible for, and what financial resources were available to them.

That clarity revealed the path. To get the right care in place, they would need to apply for Medicaid, activate their long-term care insurance, and find an agency that could provide the exact service hours they required while accepting both forms of coverage.

From there, we did the legwork. We called the agencies, spoke with their intake coordinators, gathered the information that mattered, and identified available aides for the client.

We are now working alongside them to put the appropriate home care in place.

All in a day's work.

Sage Ally serves families across NY and NJ, and our advocacy services are covered by Medicare.