By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or
[email protected] to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
*If I am consenting on behalf of someone else, I have the proper authorization to do so. By clicking Get My Results, you agree to our
Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our
Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
Aside: I am attempting to start a "caring community" in my area, where people striving to care for themselves healthfully, also strive to help each other - with information, sharing equipment, helping as they can, developing relationships with a nursing agency and other helpers, etc. I see this as a model that could be useful for many of us entering our last laps.
This is a generalization, but for the most part in terms of "senior" housing/medical facilities, government regulations only come into play when the facility is accepting government funds (aka Medicare/Medicaid). This gets most ALs off the radar because they so rarely accept Medicaid and Medicare, being a health insurance, does not pay for room and board. ALs that accept Medicaid usually severely limit the number of beds they reserve for Medicaid because the Medicaid payment is so low compared to what they can get for private pay residents. So you need to be very careful listening to the marketing speech that says " oh, when your Mom runs out of money, we accept Medicaid" because what may not be said is "if we have a dedicated Medicaid bed available at that time". If they don't have the bed.... out you go!
LTCs do accept Medicare/Medicaid (federal funds) so the government at least looks at what they charge but if they can provide spreadsheets and invoices during their audits (which are not as thorough or as frequent as I would like but that is another story as the government can't get experienced accountants because the government can't match the salaries of accounting firms) they may get a bit more in Medicaid funding but it will never match private pay. Medicare is going to pay the approved sum for approved skilled nursing/rehab (also less than private pay).
In all honesty, their costs probably have increased dramatically as everything has gone up. When eggs when from $2.00 per dz. to $4.89/dz many of us simply decreased our use of eggs but you can't do that in an AL or LTC so you can imagine what that kind of increase on the level of feeding 80 people can do. Now they have (supposedly) increased the amount they pay to try to attract LPNs and RNs although in NJ ALs do not have to have an RN on site as long as they have 24 access to one but they have to pay her (or her agency) something for the access. I have yet to see them increase the amount of money they pay CNAs who do the real "grunt" work (changing diapers, feeding, doing laundry) or the kitchen staff. So yes............. they remain incredibly understaffed in some key positions because the income that doesn't flow to the owners goes to administration, marketing and maintaining the beautiful buildings. I don't deny the owners a profit.... I just would like to see the profit a bit more evenly distributed.
Check her contract, but private pay ALs can pretty much do as they please w regard to costs. My folks spent about $400k in a 7 year period which means they depleted their life savings .... nobody can manage on just a monthly fixed income in AL! Unless that income is astronomical, savings must be tapped into.
I'm surprised they can more than double care fees and there are no regulations on this. If you lived in an apartment and they told you that they were going to more than double your rent I think a lot of people would move out. Not so easy when you are dealing with the elderly population.
Is there a provision that speaks to this?
In most instances they can do raises as they deem appropriate and necessary, and the resident has to decide whether to stay or to move to another facility.
POA may request a meeting with administration to discuss any raises; this may help.
See All Answers