Your own Life Navigator.
One person who knows your story and makes the system work. Your personal advocate and care manager.
For you, or someone you care for.
Tap to call 973-607-4911Covered by Medicare. Most patients pay $0.
Care comes in pieces.
This is what most patients and families deal with.
- Four specialists who never talk. Each one holds a piece of your health. Nobody holds all of it.
- A prior authorization nobody explains. The medication is on hold. The reason stays a mystery.
- A referral that was never scheduled. You were told to see a specialist. Weeks later, there is still no appointment.
- New medications after the hospital. The list came home changed. Nobody checked it against the old one.
Somebody has to hold it all together.
A Life Navigator holds it instead.
What your Navigator does
One trained care coordinator, assigned to you. Life Medical doctors and nurses stand behind them.
Coordinates your care
Your doctors, your pharmacy, your home care team and your equipment supplier. One person keeps them in step.
Reads your records for you
Specialist letters, lab results and hospital notes. Your Navigator turns them into a short summary you can actually use.
Handles insurance paperwork
Prior authorizations, appeals and benefit checks. Your Navigator works the forms so the medication moves.
Books appointments and rides
Visits get scheduled. Medical transportation gets arranged, including the ride home from the hospital.
Explains your visits
What the doctor said, in plain words. Which medication changed, and what happens next, in order.
Gets concerns to your doctor fast
Something changes, you call your Navigator. Urgent things reach your doctor the same day.
Finds help you did not know about
Meal programs, support groups, financial assistance, legal aid and respite care. Your Navigator does the looking.
Keeps your family in the loop
Adult children and spouses get one number to call, and a summary at the end of every month.
A month with your Navigator
Every month follows the same steady rhythm, so nothing waits for a crisis.
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Week 1
The check in call
Your Navigator calls you, and your family if you want them on the line. You go through how the month has gone, what is worrying you and what is coming up.
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Week 2
The coordination work
Pharmacy, specialist offices, insurance, equipment. Your Navigator makes the calls, chases the approvals and preps your upcoming visits.
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Week 3
Records and debriefs
New notes and lab results get read. After a specialist visit your Navigator walks you and your family through what was decided.
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Week 4
The wrap up
A written summary goes to your family. Anything unresolved goes to your doctor, and next month gets planned.
When something happens
The month has a rhythm. Real life does not. These are the moments a Navigator matters most.
- You come home from the hospital
- Your Navigator calls within a day or two. They read the discharge paperwork, compare the new medication list against the old one, confirm every prescription was filled, book the follow up visit, arrange the ride and tell your family which warning signs to watch for.
- You end up in the emergency room
- Your Navigator finds out what led to it, gets the records to your doctor and looks at what would keep it from happening again.
- A new specialist is added
- Your Navigator preps the questions before the visit, joins by video when it is complicated and explains the outcome afterwards.
- A medication changes
- They confirm the pharmacy has it, make sure you understand the change and call back in a week or two to see how you are doing on it.
- The family caregiver is worn out
- Your Navigator listens first. Then they lay out real options: home care, respite, counseling and community programs.
- You are getting worse
- Your doctor hears about it right away. Your Navigator arranges the clinical response and stays with your family through the change.
If it is an emergency, call 911 first. Your Navigator is not an emergency service.
Conditions we navigate
A serious condition expected to last three months or longer. These are the most common ones.
- Dementia and Alzheimer's
- Congestive heart failure
- COPD
- Cancer in treatment
- Advanced kidney disease
- Parkinson's disease
- Stroke with lasting effects
- Diabetes with complications
- Serious mental illness
- Frailty and repeated falls
This is not the whole list. Your Life Medical practitioner decides whether your condition qualifies. If your condition is not here, call and ask.
Who qualifies
Four things. Call us and we check all four for you.
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You have Medicare
Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan. Either one works.
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You have a serious condition
One condition expected to last three months or more, serious enough to put your health at real risk.
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You saw Life Medical in the last year
Your doctor orders the service at a visit. New to us? We arrange that visit for you.
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You say yes
Nothing starts without your consent. You confirm it once a year, and you can stop whenever you want.
Some patients cannot start right now: patients on hospice, patients in PACE, and patients in a covered skilled nursing stay. A skilled nursing stay is temporary, so we can begin once you are home.
Most people call to find out if they qualify.
Tap to call 973-607-4911You keep your doctors
All of them stay exactly as they are. Your cardiologist stays your cardiologist. Your primary care doctor stays your primary care doctor. Your Navigator works alongside them.
Life Medical also has its own doctors and clinicians. They cover gaps in your care. They are there for anything urgent.
What your Navigator does not do
Being clear about the line is part of doing this well.
- They do not diagnose you or tell you what a test result means. They read it to you, and get the answer from your doctor.
- They do not start, stop or change a medication. Only your doctor does that.
- They do not replace your doctor, your specialist or 911.
- They do not sell you anything. There is nothing to buy here.
What they do is make sure your doctors have what they need, and that you understand your own plan.
What it costs
Zero dollars
for most patients
This is a covered Medicare service. We check your coverage first. Then we tell you your exact cost.
You can stop at any time.
How to start
From your first call to your first month, this is the whole process.
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You call us
Tell us what is going on. We check your Medicare coverage, your condition and your visit history while you are on the phone.
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Your doctor orders it
The service starts with a visit with a Life Medical practitioner. If you have not had one this year, we book it, and we can arrange the ride.
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You meet your Navigator
A welcome call in the first week, with your family if you want them there. You go through your medications, your appointments, your worries and what matters most to you.
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You get a plan, and a person
By the end of the first month you have a written care plan and a direct number. You know who to call when you do not know who to call.
Questions people ask
What is Principal Illness Navigation?
It is a Medicare service that started in January 2024. It pays for a trained navigator to help a patient with a serious illness manage their care. At Life Medical we call that person your Life Navigator. Most Medicare members have never been told this benefit exists.
Is my Life Navigator a doctor or a nurse?
No. Your Navigator is a trained care coordinator. They do not diagnose, prescribe or change medications. They work under your doctor and bring anything clinical straight to the doctor, often the same day.
Do I have to change doctors?
No. You keep every doctor you have. Your Navigator works alongside them and keeps everyone in step.
What does it cost?
Most patients pay nothing. Part B cost sharing may apply, and it is waived for patients with full Medicaid or QMB. We check your coverage before you start and tell you your exact cost.
Can my son or daughter call for me?
Yes. Families call us every day. With your permission your Navigator talks to your family, sends a plain language summary after visits and answers their questions.
How often will I hear from my Navigator?
You get a check in call every month, plus the coordination work in between. You can call your Navigator whenever something comes up. After a hospital stay you hear from them within a day or two.
Can I start right after a hospital stay?
Yes, and that is one of the best times to start. The days right after discharge are when things get missed.
I live in assisted living. Can I still have a Navigator?
Yes. Navigation works whether you live at home or in an assisted living community.
Who cannot start right now?
Patients on hospice, patients enrolled in PACE, and patients in a covered skilled nursing stay. A skilled nursing stay is temporary, so we can start once you are home. Call us and we will tell you where you stand.
Can I stop?
Yes, any time, for any reason. Tell your Navigator and it stops. Nothing about your regular care changes.
Talk to a person today.
Tell us what is going on. We will tell you if a Life Navigator can help. Call for yourself, or for someone you care for.
Tap to call 973-607-4911Covered by Medicare. Most patients pay $0.