For more than two decades, senior living has had high hopes for Continuing Care at Home (CCaH). The idea always seemed powerful: an option that brings the financial and healthcare benefits of Life Plan Communities to older adults who prefer to stay in their own homes. Yet despite those high aspirations, real-world results have been far more modest.
After nearly 30 years, CCaH programs collectively serve fewer than 10,000 people nationwide, and (in one telling exception; more on that later) no single program has more than 400 members.
Why has this product failed to generate broader consumer interest? Why has a concept the field considers visionary not resonated well with the people it hopes to serve?
These questions shaped the work of a 2025 LeadingAge-led initiative involving three task forces, each analyzing a different dimension of the CCaH challenge. Their findings presented at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Boston offer a clearer understanding of the barriers and the beginning of a framework to revitalize the model in 2026.
Why Growth Has Stalled: Awareness, Perception and Pricing Confusion
The task force identified several core barriers keeping CCaH from its potential.
1. Low public awareness
Most older adults simply do not know CCaH exists. Even among those who learn about it, awareness typically comes late in life—often after a triggering health event.
2. A perception that it’s “not needed yet”
Even those who understand CCaH often view it as something they’ll consider only when they require significant support, as a reactive solution rather than an aspirational, proactive program.
3. Misperceptions about cost
Prospects and even professionals often misunderstand how CCaH compares to long-term care insurance, private home care or Medicare-covered services, considering it a more expensive version of something they already know. This misconception masks the financial protection and long-term value that CCaH can provide.
In short: The core product meets real, critical needs, but its current positioning, language and market messaging do not.
Brand Positioning: Defining What Makes the Model Distinct
The task force focused on brand differentiation—compared to long-term care insurance, home health, hospice, private pay services or other care options. It produced three brand pillars that capture the most compelling differentiators:
- The freedom to stay in one’s own home as long as possible: This remains the number-one priority for most older adults.
- Personalized care coordination: Members gain a partner who organizes, arranges and oversees care—and who is committed to their long-term well-being.
- A financially smart structure: CCaH can deliver care, when needed, at significantly lower costs than standard daily rates.
These pillars came together in a recommended brand positioning statement (see sidebar). This concise positioning has the potential to unify the field in explaining what CCaH truly is.
Note: Love & Company drafted the brand pillars, brand positioning and other brand elements, which were then refined by the brand definition task force.
CCaH Brand Positioning
CCaH programs are a membership-based alternative to a traditional Life Plan Community. Designed to keep members in their own homes as long as possible, they provide proactive, personalized wellness planning and care coordination. Members benefit from predictable, insurance-like financial protection and flexible plan options that can deliver care at significantly lower costs than typical daily rates.
What’s Next? A New Name for CCaH
One of the strongest task force recommendations was straightforward: Create a new name. While the senior living field refers to this overall service as “continuing care at home,” virtually no program refers to itself as a CCaH program. The name carries the same baggage that “continuing care” retirement communities did before that name was changed.
So, just as “Life Plan Community” gradually replaced “CCRC” beginning in 2015, the field now needs a modernized, consumer-friendly name that 1) accurately reflects the model’s strength, and 2) programs it will actually use. The new name should:
- Instantly clarify purpose
- Remove negative or outdated connotations
- Better reflect aspirational, proactive planning
- Support national awareness campaigns
- Enable unified brand and marketing strategies across providers
Love & Company believes this name change is the first and most urgent step. Without a unified brand category under which all programs can market themselves, marketing and messaging improvements will remain fragmented.
Messaging: Moving Beyond Direct Mail to Multi-Channel Marketing
Another task force focused on messaging strategies for potential members and their families. It strongly recommended a multi-channel marketing approach instead of over-relying on direct mail. The recommended mix includes many, if not all, of the following channels:
- Social media advertising
- Streaming video and audio placements
- Digital display and retargeting
- Print placements in select publications
- Customized direct mail
- Educational webinars and in-person seminars
- Influencer or professional ambassador partnerships
This strategy broadens reach among prospective members, engages adult children and positions the program as a mainstream, financially astute option—not a niche service.
The Task Force’s Next Steps
At the conclusion of the LeadingAge presentation of the groups’ recommendations, task force leaders outlined four next steps for advancing CCaH’s market presence and performance:
- Data analysis using shared metrics across providers to demonstrate outcomes and effectiveness
- Market feasibility and penetration studies to identify new opportunities nationwide
- Cultivation of key stakeholders who can amplify awareness
- Unified brand and product differentiation, beginning with a new name
LeadingAge is expected to choose the top one or two priorities from this list and launch a new task force for 2026.
A Missing Piece: Another Step Love & Company Believes the Field Must Take
We strongly agree that the highest priority is developing a new name and unified brand. Without a strong, shared identity, the model will continue to be misunderstood. We also agree that organizations should collaborate to develop, test and refine new messaging and campaigns. The field has long needed research-driven marketing materials that speak to today’s highly informed, highly selective consumers.
That said, there is a third area the task force did not address, and we believe it may be even more critical to long-term success.
The Outlier: What 2,000-Member Friends Life Care Reveals
Remember in the beginning of this article, where we shared that one senior living leader said that no CCaH program has more than 400 members? That’s mostly true, with one exception. Friends Life Care, which uses a different contract model than most CCaH programs, has more than 2,000 members and has sustained that level for many years.
This begs the question: What is Friends Life Care doing that others are not? The answer appears to be in its contract structure. Most CCaH programs offered through Life Plan Communities mirror the community contracts: They include a substantial initial membership fee, followed by a significant monthly fee.
Friends Life Care, by contrast, offers a clear, simple fee-for-service model that focuses on providing care coordination while only involving a modest upfront fee and a steady monthly fee tied directly to services and support. This model is easier for consumers to understand, easier to explain and more clearly connected to day-to-day value. It may better match what today’s older adults and families are seeking: support that begins now, not later.
That is why Love & Company recommends a third priority for the field: Conduct research to understand which program structures most appeal to today’s and tomorrow’s target audiences. Understanding what older adults are truly willing to buy—and why—is essential for sustainable growth.
Conclusion: A Turning Point—and an Opportunity
The conversations and task force outcomes of 2025 represent a pivotal moment. CCaH has always held great promise. Now, the next phase of the task force’s work will determine whether it becomes a widely adopted aging-in-place solution or remains a misunderstood niche offering. The path forward is clearer than it has been in years:
- Unify the brand with a new name.
- Modernize messaging through multi-channel marketing and shared positioning.
- Gain a better understanding of preferred contract models.
If the field embraces these steps, 2026 could mark the true beginning—not the end—of CCaH’s long-awaited evolution.
