U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, sent a letter pushing one of the Nation’s largest assisted living referral services to disclose more information about its potentially deceptive business practices that are putting older adults and their families at risk. Casey sent the letter to A Place for Mom, which is misleading older adults and their families by claiming that it is an unbiased and no-cost recommendation and referral service for people in search of assisted living facilities. In the letter, Casey references company materials and recent reporting showing that the company’s recommendations are not objective, not safe, and not truly free.
Rather than offering an unbiased assessment of the best options out of the full set of facilities older adults and their families are choosing from, A Place for Mom only refers to facilities that pay the company a commission. Additionally, recent reporting suggests that some of A Place for Mom’s top-rated facilities actually have records of substandard or dangerous care and that the company may overstate the degree to which its services save families money. Casey therefore asks A Place for Mom to provide documents and responses regarding the company’s advertising and business practices, so families can have a better understanding of what the company’s recommendations mean while trying to make decisions about assisted living for themselves and their loved ones.
A Place for Mom’s claims that it is unbiased are undermined by its own materials, as well as expert advice from former company employees, given that the listings families are shown by A Place for Mom are limited to facilities from which it receives a commission. Families seeking information from A Place for Mom see offerings from less than half of available options nationwide.
A Place for Mom’s claims to be a free service for families similarly ignores a central component of the company’s business model. In reality, facilities pass those costs along to residents and their families who pay significant fees for assisted living.
A Place for Mom’s ownership by some of the largest private equity firms underscores its own profit seeking motives. Over the last several decades, private equity has increasingly invested in the broader senior living landscape, with a focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term support for older adults and workers.
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. Reports dating to 2010 also raised concerns about the danger of referral services, including A Place for Mom, recommending substandard facilities.