Understood Care
Coverage data 2024. Plan networks change - we confirm exactly what your plan covers before any work begins.
Daniele Marsh Care Advocate From the first call, Daniele is the same person every time: no call center, no starting over, and no surprise bills.
Desi Palmer Care Advocate Desi works one-to-one with Medicare members on bills, denials, appointments, and benefits, and stays on the case until it is resolved.
Michelle Rindfleisch Care Advocate One dedicated advocate with a direct phone and text line: Michelle makes the calls and handles the paperwork so you do not have to.
Discover free NH Medicare counseling, CFI waiver home care, and programs that pay family caregivers. Call ServiceLink today to find your best care option.
On the Seacoast, care is anchored by Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, Exeter Hospital, and Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, so referrals, bills, and follow-ups between systems, and the summer surge, rarely line up on their own. Understood Care is a virtual service: phone, video, and secure messaging. For Durham members that means no waiting room and no travel, whether the problem is a confusing hospital bill, a denied claim, a referral that went nowhere, or a parent in Strafford County who needs someone watching their whole picture. Your advocate is the same person every time, follows up every 7 days while your case is active, and still checks in monthly after it is resolved. Many The Seacoast families also run New Hampshire Medicaid's Choices for Independence waiver alongside Medicare; we handle the Medicare side.
Durham is younger than the state average (6.5% are 65+, versus 19.5% statewide), which can make Medicare-savvy help harder to find locally. Of the 29,829 Medicare beneficiaries in Strafford County, 37.4% were on Medicare Advantage plans in 2025, in line with New Hampshire's 35.5%. About 3,151 neighbors are dual-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, the group New Hampshire's Choices for Independence and Medicare Savings Programs reach.
Of 6 Medicare-certified homes, 4 rate 4+ CMS stars , a spread an advocate helps families navigate. Highest-rated nearby:
About 145 Durham households are a person 65+ living alone, and that is exactly who a dedicated advocate keeps from falling through the cracks. 12.8% of senior households here have no vehicle (about 51 households), which is why a fully virtual advocate, plus Medicare-covered ride benefits where plans include them, matters. Setting up home care, meal delivery, and transportation is core advocate work, covered by Medicare.
About 2.3% of Durham seniors live below the poverty line (New Hampshire: 7.4%), and many more qualify for help they never claim: Extra Help with Part D costs and New Hampshire's Medicare Savings Programs. Checking every one of those is standard advocate work. 29.1% of seniors here live with a disability, where equipment orders and prior authorizations pile up fastest. The federal government lists 2 primary-care shortage designations in Strafford County, so appointment hunting is a real problem an advocate takes over. Specialized care nearby: 2 Medicare-certified dialysis facilities (avg 3/5 CMS stars) and 3 hospice providers.
Durham, New Hampshire · Strafford County · served virtually statewide
From CMS Care Compare. ER medians below are CMS-reported; New Hampshire's statewide median is 160 minutes. Billing disputes, discharge planning, and referral follow-ups with these systems are everyday advocate work:
Medigap in New Hampshire follows the federal standardized plans, and your one guaranteed window to buy any of them without medical underwriting is the six-month Open Enrollment Period that starts at 65 with Part B. New Hampshire has no birthday rule, but unlike many states it was among the first to guarantee Medigap to under-65 disability beneficiaries (insurers may charge them more, but not once they turn 65). ServiceLink, New Hampshire's free SHIP counseling run by the Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services and reachable at 1-866-634-9412, gives commission-free help to Durham residents. Many Durham seniors also qualify for Extra Help and New Hampshire's Medicare Savings Programs but never claim them. The full, sourced rundown is on our New Hampshire patient advocacy hub.
New Hampshire's Choices for Independence (CFI) waiver lets Medicaid families get long-term care at home instead of a nursing facility, though it has an active waiting list, so applying early matters. Its self-direction option can pay the caregiver the person chooses, including a family member such as an adult child (but not a spouse), while their parent's Medicare paperwork piles up. New Hampshire does not have a PACE program, so CFI and ServiceLink are the main home-and-community paths. That split is exactly where an advocate fits: you handle the caregiving, we handle the Medicare side. See how Choices for Independence and Medicare fit together on our New Hampshire hub.
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Three doors, all worth knowing. For free, unbiased counseling on plans and enrollment, New Hampshire's ServiceLink Resource Centers, the state's SHIP run by the Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services, at 1-866-634-9412 (or the national SHIP line at 1-877-839-2675). For local services such as meals, rides, and in-home help, ServiceLink also serves Durham at 1-866-634-9412 (or the national Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116). And for one dedicated advocate who does the ongoing work with you, bills, denials, appointments, and benefits, Understood Care, covered by Medicare for most members and usually $0: call (646) 904-4027 or get started online.
Yes. Medicare has paid for professional healthcare navigation (Principal Illness Navigation and Community Health Integration services) since January 2024. Part B covers about 80% and a Medigap plan typically covers the rest, so most members in Strafford County pay $0. We confirm your exact coverage before your first session, and there are no surprise bills.
Per CMS enrollment data for 2025, Strafford County had 29,829 Medicare beneficiaries: 11,162 on Medicare Advantage plans (37.4%) and 18,667 on Original Medicare, with about 3,151 dual-eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Understood Care advocates work with both: Original Medicare members usually pay $0 through Part B plus a supplement, and we confirm Medicare Advantage coverage plan by plan before any work begins.
Per the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, about 684 of Durham's 10,577 residents are 65 or older (6.5%), within a county of roughly 21,771 seniors (Strafford County). Most become Medicare-eligible at 65, and every one of them has the same federal benefits an advocate helps put to work.
Per CMS Timely & Effective Care data (period ending 09/30/2025), the median ER visit at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital runs about 242 minutes, and local hospitals range 132 to 242 minutes; New Hampshire's statewide median is 160 minutes. An advocate cannot shorten an ER line, but avoiding the ER for non-emergencies is advocate work: same-week appointments, urgent-care routing, and follow-up coordination.
No. Understood Care is fully virtual, delivered by phone, video, and secure messaging, so it works the same in Durham as anywhere else in New Hampshire's ten counties. If leaving home is hard, that is exactly the situation the service is built for.
Advocates work virtually and are matched to you, not to a zip code. You get one dedicated advocate with their direct phone, email, and text (One Advocate, For Life), and they work with New Hampshire's programs, ServiceLink SHIP counseling, the Medicare Savings Programs New Hampshire Medicaid runs with an asset test, and the Choices for Independence (CFI) long-term-care waiver, and the county services that apply in Strafford County.
Those are New Hampshire Medicaid programs. The Choices for Independence (CFI) waiver helps people who meet a nursing-facility level of care stay home with personal care, homemaking, adult day services, meals, and respite. It has an active waiting list, so your application date sets your place in line, and its self-direction option can pay the caregiver you choose, including a family member such as an adult child (but not a spouse or a legally responsible relative), with a financial management service handling payroll. New Hampshire does not have a PACE program, so CFI and the ServiceLink network are the main home-and-community paths. Families we serve in The Seacoast use these programs. Our advocacy is billed through Medicare, so for dual-eligible families the split works well: you run the caregiving, and your parent's advocate handles the Medicare side.
In New Hampshire we are in-network for Original Medicare (traditional fee-for-service Medicare); UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans (~34% of New Hampshire MA members); Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Elevance) Medicare Advantage plans (~16% of New Hampshire MA members); Cigna Medicare Advantage plans (~2% of New Hampshire MA members). Together that covers roughly 83.2% of New Hampshire's Medicare beneficiaries. Market-share data: 2024. Plan networks change, so we confirm exactly what your plan covers before any work begins - no surprise bills.
The Seacoast
Portsmouth · Dover · Rochester · Somersworth · Farmington · Exeter · Hampton · Newmarket · All of New Hampshire
Local figures: US Census Bureau American Community Survey (2023, 5-year), CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment (2025), and CMS Care Compare, retrieved 2026-09-21. Statewide program facts were last verified on 2026-09-21; sources are listed on the New Hampshire hub, and the full county tables are on New Hampshire Medicare by the numbers. Understood Care is an independent private advocacy service and is not affiliated with any government agency or any hospital named above.