CareSource and ElderServe Health seek affiliation to strengthen long-term care for older adults and adults with disabilities in New York
DAYTON, Ohio and NEW YORK, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CareSource, a nationally recognized nonprofit managed care organization, today announced that it will seek an affiliation with ElderServe Health, Inc., dba RiverSpring Health Plans (ElderServe Health) through a change-of-control transaction. Subject to state regulatory approval, RiverSpring Living will end its affiliation with ElderServe Health, which will join CareSource's family of brands. CareSource will strengthen ElderServe Health's ability to provide high-quality long-term support services, with both organizations bringing their shared members-first approach to more New Yorkers, while RiverSpring Living will focus on residential, supportive and assisted living.
'As demographics continue to shift, the need for long-term services and support will triple by 2050,' said Erhardt Preitauer, president and CEO, CareSource. 'We are passionate about transforming care for individuals with complex health needs, enabling them to live healthier, fuller lives. Growing our family of brands allows us to deepen our collective impact by improving quality of life and health outcomes for some of the most vulnerable populations in our country.'
ElderServe Health provides long-term care services to more than 20,000 older adults and adults with disabilities in New York City and Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties. The organization serves a frail and elderly or disabled, predominantly dual-eligible membership enrolled in one of the following programs: New York State Medicaid Managed Long Term Care Program, Medicare Advantage Institutional Special Needs Plan (I-SNP) or Medicaid Advantage Plus / Medicare Advantage Dual Eligible Special Needs Program (D-SNP MAP).
'CareSource's innovation and managed care expertise will support ElderServe Health's commitment to high-quality care and strong community connections,' said Scott Markovich, EVP, markets and products, CareSource. 'We are excited to join forces with a like-minded, mission-driven organization to further improve care and services for New Yorkers.'
Approximately 3.5 million New Yorkers are aged 65 or over, making it the most rapidly growing segment of the state's population, and more than half will require long-term care during their lifetime. Additionally, over a million New Yorkers with disabilities, chronic illnesses or other functional complications are anticipated to need long-term care services. The CareSource and ElderServe Health affiliation is designed to help fill these critical, long-term care needs for New York's growing population of older adults and adults with disabilities.
'CareSource's mission-driven commitment is exemplary, and they are ideally suited to acquire control of ElderServe Health,' said David V. Pomeranz, President & CEO of RiverSpring Living. 'RiverSpring Living will continue to prioritize residential, supportive and assisted living at our Riverdale campus.'
ElderServe Health headquarters and employees will remain in New York. There is no anticipated disruption to member coverage as ElderServe Health becomes part of the CareSource family of brands.
'For our members, this transition should be seamless – they will continue to receive care management from the same trusted team and have the same access to the services that matter most,' said Susan Aldrich, executive vice president, ElderServe Health. 'Our new partnership will further enhance the quality of care and provide even more resources, ensuring that we are always meeting the evolving needs of our members.'
About CareSource
CareSource is a nonprofit, nationally recognized managed care organization with over two million members. CareSource administers one of the largest Medicaid managed care plans in the U.S. The organization offers health insurance, including Medicaid, Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicare products. As a mission-driven organization, CareSource is transforming health care with innovative programs that address the social determinants of health, health equity, prevention and access to care.
For more information, visit us at www.caresource.com, or follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
ElderServe Health, Inc., dba RiverSpring Health Plans is a mission driven, not-for-profit managed care organization serving the New York metropolitan area, with over 20,000 members, all of whom are frail and elderly or disabled. Its team has decades of experience managing care by paying attention to individuals, their environments and their health issues. We are about the whole person. ElderServe Health offers Medicaid managed long-term care, Medicare-only and integrated Medicaid-Medicare plans. In all plans, clinical staff work with members to develop care plans, assure that they are effective and that they change to meet evolving needs. Our goal is helping our members be as healthy and independent as possible.
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'I've been thankfully proved wrong on many occasions,' Slater said. ' I think there is a fallacy in the premise that you qualify if you have less than six months to live, because any doctor who declares that is assuming a crystal ball that they don't have.' In reality, legalizing assisted death risks creating a new social norm — one that pressures vulnerable individuals, especially those who are alone, seriously ill or unsupported, into feeling like death is their best or only option. In 2019, Kate Connolly, a communications professional in New York City, received a call that her mother had been rushed to the hospital with a brain aneurysm, she recalled while speaking alongside Dugdale and Mechmann. For the next four and a half years, her mother remained confined to her bed and wheelchair, on a feeding tube, unable to do much without assistance. Yet, even in a severely disabled state, her mother's presence was cherished by her family before she died, Connolly said. 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End-of-life decisions must involve thoughtful, peaceful conversations between patients, families and doctors, Connolly noted. 'What is the right course of action? What is reasonable or what is needlessly extending pain and suffering?' she said. 'You cannot ask these questions thoughtfully or with any real meaning when you're being pushed to just do the expedient thing and end the life in front of you.' According to studies from Canada, the top reasons that patients say they seek a lethal prescription are more social rather than physical. In Canada, the 2022 annual report revealed that the most commonly cited reasons for requesting MAiD were loss of ability to engage in meaningful activities (86%) and loss of ability to perform daily activities (81%). While supporters of MAiD often argue that alleviating pain is one of the main reasons for hastening the death of a patient, about 59% are concerned about 'controlling pain.' According to Oregon data, nearly 30% of MAiD-seeking patients cite current and future concerns about pain. 'So it's much more an issue of control,' Dugdale said, adding that the U.S. has robust pain control. 'Dying in pain is not an issue. It should not be an issue.' Instead, loss of independence and fear of being a burden often are. These fears should be met with care, not a prescription, Mechmann said. 'It's incumbent on us to make sure people don't feel (like a burden).' With her medical trainees, Dugdale observed a shift in attitudes toward physician-assisted dying. In recent conversations, she said, some trainees wondered, 'Why don't we just do away with our societal aversion to suicide altogether?' and embrace the view that if individuals wish to end their lives, they should be free to do so without interference. Once, she was asked whether assisted suicide can be a solution to the problem of loneliness. With this mindset, end-of-life decisions would be made through a utilitarian and individualistic lens. Many physicians are uneasy about appearing 'paternalist,' Dugdale said. 'And so to mitigate that, we defer everything to the patient,' she said. The core ethical principles of beneficence (doing good) and non-maleficence (avoiding harm) have, in practice, been overshadowed by an almost singular focus on autonomy, Dugdale said. For doctors, she continued, MAiD can offer a controlled intervention in the often unpredictable process of dying, providing a sense of agency amid uncertainty. 'There's already a growing pressure to sacrifice one's life for the so-called 'greater good' and to rid the world of expensive, hopeless cases,' she said. Normalizing the idea of choosing death, especially in a society already grappling with high health care costs and an aging population, may cause younger health care professionals to view seriously ill, expensive patients as burdens. A study from Oxford University points to a correlation between legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia and increased rates of more common forms of suicide in both the U.S. and Europe. 'Once it becomes widely acceptable that I can end my life on my own terms, that feeds a culture of death,' Dugdale said. In Canada, euthanasia is now the fifth most common cause of death. 'At some point, the vast majority of people in the state of New York are gonna be laying in a hospital bed. And when the doctor shows up, what are we gonna think? Is this my ally or is this my enemy?' Mechmann said. So what, then, is the way forward? Investing in meaningful relationships and community and maintaining deep personal connections through family, faith communities, clubs or friendships is a bulwark against loneliness and despair, experts agreed. It's human connection — not lethal prescriptions — that is the real antidote to suffering, participants in the event said. 'Suffering is inevitable,' Mechmann said. But the assisted suicide is a 'bad answer' to the problem of suffering. 'It's love, it's community, it's not despairing. It's being willing to embrace some of the suffering and to live with it and to walk with it.' Editor's note: This story deals with the practice of assisted suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line is always available. You can text or call 988 any time or chat at In Utah, you can also reach out to SafeUT, 833-372-3388, or download the SafeUT app.
