Senate probes A Place for Mom, referral service accused of putting seniors at risk (2024)

The Senate Special Committee on Aging is launching an investigation into A Place for Mom, the country’s largest for-profit senior care referral service, which has been accused of steering people toward facilities with documented safety and regulatory violations while collecting lucrative commissions.

Committee Chair Bob Casey, D-Pa., sent a letter Tuesday to A Place for Mom accusing it of misleading users about the role commissions play in its referrals and discriminating against low-income families. The letter, obtained by NBC News, requested three years’ worth of information about revenue the company has received from assisted living communities.

A Place for Mom, launched in 2000, which bills itself as the biggest online referral service for senior living options, lists roughly 14,000 establishments in the U.S. and accepts payments from those facilities. But seniors and their families might not realize that’s less than half of the facilities on the market, the letter states.

Casey’s letter also criticizes A Place for Mom for encouraging families to spend more than they can afford. It cites a frequently asked questions section of the company’s website that encourages facilities not to worry if they charge more than a family’s stated upper limit. According to the FAQ, nearly 40% of families who moved to senior living paid roughly $1,000 more per month than they had budgeted.

“It is clear A Place for Mom is upselling families, and the company ultimately benefits from families spending beyond their means,” Casey wrote.

Senate probes A Place for Mom, referral service accused of putting seniors at risk (1)

The FAQ also says its advisers do their best “to ensure that no federally funded family is referred” to the communities, effectively barring families who want to use Medicaid funding to cover assisted living costs.A Place for Mom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Assisted living and elder care are part of a booming industry that’s expected to continue expanding in the next two decades. The average monthly cost of assisted living is around $4,500 to $5,300, but it varies depending on location and the level of care required. A majority of the facilities are affiliated with chains or large corporations, and the quality of care has increasingly been called into question as private equity firms have taken greater ownership of the industry.

In 2010, The Seattle Times reported that A Place for Mom referred people to senior living homes without inspecting them for quality or safety, directing families toward facilities with documented abuse and neglect violations. The company said at the time that its advisers sometimes fall behind on visiting facilities in person but that many families were satisfied with its services.

This year, a Washington Post analysis found that more than a third of the facilities the website recommended as “Best of Senior Living” across 28 states had been “cited for neglect or substandard care in the past two years.” State oversight records reviewed by the Post alleged the facilities failed to properly tend to injuries, mismanaged medication and did not adequately monitor patients who later died. The company told the Post it encourages families to do their own research to make “an informed decision.”

While A Place for Mom is the biggest senior living referral service, it is not the only website that receives commissions from facilities for finding them residents.

Kate Granigan, board president of the Aging Life Care Association, a nonprofit group that advocates for ethical standards in elder care, said that as long as the facilities foot the bill for referrals — rather than the consumers’ paying advisers for recommendations — the model is “ripe for conflict.” She said she would support legislation to require minimum transparency standards for referral services.

“Transparency about how they get paid is important to the consumer. “As is the fact that they don’t represent everything that’s out there — they represent who pays them. I also think there should be transparency about their expertise,” Granigan said, noting that consumers may not understand that not all of the advisers who help them have medical backgrounds.

A Place for Mom was previously owned by a private equity firm that simultaneously had invested in assisted living facilities, before the website was sold to the two other private equity firms that currently hold it, according to Casey’s letter.

Casey’s letter asked A Place for Mom for its total revenue for each of the last three years and for the 100 facilities it received the most money from and referred the most people to over the same period. The letter also requested details on A Place for Mom's process for vetting facilities and the total number of move-in fees it received last year, along with copies of sample contracts. The company has until July 15 to provide the requested information.

Tyler Kingkade

Tyler Kingkade is a national reporter for NBC News, based in Los Angeles.

Senate probes A Place for Mom, referral service accused of putting seniors at risk (2024)

FAQs

What is the A Place for Mom controversy? ›

Finally, A Place for Mom also has a record of placing referred residents in jeopardy. A recent investigation revealed that facilities that received A Place for Mom's “Best of Senior Living” awards had been cited for neglect or substandard care in the last two years.

Who is the CEO of A Place for Mom? ›

("APFM" or the "Company"), the leading senior care advisory service in North America, today announced that President Tatyana Zlotsky has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and will join the Company's Board of Directors.

How does a place for mom make its money? ›

Business model

The company derives its revenue from referrals to facilities and providers within its partner network, including residential care homes, assisted living, and memory care communities, independent senior apartments, and home care services.

Who are the competitors of a place for mom? ›

Similar companies to A Place for Mom
  • Senior Lifestyle. 10K $1B.
  • Sunrise Senior Living. 12K $1B.
  • Holiday Retirement. 5K $1B.
  • Life Care Services. 783 $50M$100M.
  • Five Star Senior Living. 10K $1B.
  • Atria Senior Living. 10K $1B.
  • Brookdale Senior Living. 5.2K $1B.

Is A Place for Mom publicly traded? ›

Founded by an entrepreneurial married couple in Seattle in 2000, A Place for Mom is now owned by private equity firms Silver Lake Partners and General Atlantic. As a privately held company, it is not required to disclose such key information as annual revenue and marketing budgets.

How long has A Place for Mom been in business? ›

A Place for Mom was founded in 2000. Where is A Place for Mom's headquarters? A Place for Mom's headquarters is located at 530 Fifth Avenue, New York.

Is aging care the same as A Place for Mom? ›

AgingCare is a partner with A Place for Mom.

Is aging care the same as a place for mom? ›

AgingCare is a partner with A Place for Mom.

How do I get a place for mom to stop calling me? ›

If you wish to opt out of communications with senior care network providers, you must contact them directly, as we do not control communications from senior care network providers.

Why is the book My Mom's Having a Baby banned? ›

It was the fourth most censored book in the United States in 2011, and was censored for nudity, sex education, and unsuitability to the age group. The book contains nudity in order to provide a detailed description of how babies are created.

Where is a place for mom headquartered? ›

A Place for Mom is headquartered in New York, 530 5th Avenue, United States, and has 1 office location.

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