May 12, 2025 • 45 mins
Listen in as host Steve Kuker, President of Senior Care Consulting, warns everyone to be protective of their Long Term Care Insurance policy, as there seems to be a trend in receiving calls asking if you want to “upgrade” your policy. Many times, this “upgrade” would change your lifetime benefit to a 3-5 year benefit, which is NOT in your favor. Don’t miss the Consumer Alert where Steve will share some shocking, publicly available, Better Business Bureau complaints about a “free” referral service. Steve exposes the revenue model of a new flavor of “free” referral service and encourages you to ask the fair and important question: “how much money will you be paid by the facility you’re recommending, if I choose that one?” Spoiler alert: Steve was recently mistakenly offered $6,750 by a place that is willing to pay these “free” referral services up to 100% of the first month’s cost! Steve discusses Senior Care Consulting franchise opportunities all across America where you can offer A Placement Service With Integrity® in your market. Get in on the ground floor and be a part of the Senior Care Consulting “Founder’s Club”! Steve also recognizes Mother’s Day! #SeniorCare #SeniorCareLive #SeniorCareConsulting #SeniorLiving #KansasCitySeniorCare #SeniorCarePlacement #SeniorCareAdvisor #Franchise #SeniorCareFranchise #Fiduciary(800) 331-6445
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Are you caring for an aging loved one? Are you
a senior searching for answers? Welcome to Senior Care Live,
a program dedicated to you, providing information, education, and resources
for seniors and their caregivers. And now America's Senior care Consultant.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Steve Keecker, Hello and welcome to Senior Care Live. I'm
Steve Keeker. You're Senior Care Consultant, and I really appreciate
you tuning in today. This show may sound a little
bit grumpy, so I'll just I'm gonna be warning you
about some stuff here. Hopefully I don't yell too much,
(00:41):
and I won't swear, or I'll try not to swear,
and if I do, our wonderful producer Darren will cut
that out or hit.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
The I make no guarantees.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Okay, he may hit the dump button on me. I
don't know. Anyway, I got some stuff on my mind here.
As they say, so, let's just jump into this. AH,
be very protective of your long term care insurance policy.
(01:12):
Well what do you mean by that, Steve? I got
a long term care insurance policy. What do I need
to be protective of? I have heard from way way
too many people about some questionable sales tactics and efforts
of some companies out there, not all of them, some
of them to get long term care insurance policy holders
(01:36):
to convert. There, I'm putting on my air quotes their
old long term care insurance policy to a here's another
air quote, new and improved long term care insurance policy.
But here's the problem. These old policies, or many of
these old policies, have a lifetime benefit. And let me
(02:00):
tell you if you need to use your long term
care insurance, and that's why you buy insurance, just to
cover the need if you should need it. And by
the way, depending on what study you look at, seventy
percent to seventy five percent of us will need, require
and pay for long term care at some point in
(02:23):
our life. Okay, a lot of these air quote old
oh that's an old policy. A lot of them have
lifetime benefits. If you need that, that thing's worth its
weight in gold, maybe platinum. The challenge for the company
some of these companies its just I didn't think.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I don't think they.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Work their actual actuarial tables, easy for me to say properly.
And these lifetime benefits on some of these older policies
that are sitting out there now now being activated if
you will. They're costing these companies a fortune. But you've
paid premiums on these things for fifteen, twenty thirty years,
(03:08):
so you deserve that benefit. That's what you've paid for.
But again, these lifetime benefits, they could be paying four, five, six, ten, twelve,
I mean many, many, many years, huge money. So some
of them, not all of them. Some of them are
trying to talk their policy holders out of keeping them.
(03:30):
Oh that's an old policy. You need a new and
improved policy. And guess what. That new and improved policy
does not have a lifetime benefit. It will cap out
of their out of pocket or their maximum cost at
three years or five years or whatever it is. And
they may even lower the daily benefit to try to
(03:53):
get you that new and improved Oh, this is a
new and improved one. No. Now, some of them may
be new and improved, depending on what you have, but
a lot of them are not. So one of my clients,
A has a father, has a very nice policy. It
was this thing. Look, this thing's going to pay for
anything he may need. He pumped a ton of money
(04:14):
into this thing. Has a lifetime benefit she's getting ready
to activate that policy, so we'll start paying out. But
this gentleman, God bless him, he has dementia. And she
was sharing with me that several sales reps have been
calling him very frequently to try to get him to
(04:37):
change to a new and improved policy. And I said, no, no, no, no, no, no,
don't let them do that. She's like, I know, but
you know what if my dad one of these times
says sure, yeah, let's go ahead and do that, she said,
I'm just scared to death. So we had a good
talk about that. She had to invoke her power of
(04:57):
attorney and step in and takeover for this particular situation.
She had her lawyer write a cease and desist letter
telling this particular company and all their very aggressive sales
reps to not contact him at all. All correspondents will
(05:17):
now be handled by his daughter. She had the proper
power of attorney. It was all taken care of and
they stopped calling him. So the messages or the question is,
do you have a parent with one of these really
great policies, and if so, are they receiving calls from
(05:38):
company representatives wanting to shift them away from that and
get them to convert it into a new and improved policy.
And if that's the case, you I would suggest taking
a good hard look at that to see if that
is in your best interest or not, and especially if
your loved one has dementia, and you know, they may
(06:02):
unintentionally oh yeah, that sounds pretty good, because they're not
capable of maybe thinking that through very clearly, right, God
bless them. You may need to step in and take
over as well, just like my client did for her dad.
Another incident, a friend who's a financial advisor called me
about one of his clients and evidently there's a settlement
(06:23):
involving as a long term care insurance company and they're
now offering to convert old policies to the new and
improved policies, and they're using what what's somewhat of a
kind of a little bit of a scare tactic. With
that looming rate increase coming, Oh oh it is going
to go up, you know, by ten percent, I recommend,
(06:44):
you know, getting into one of these locking into one
of these new and improved policies, and you know, and
but I recommend he, hey, keep the policy if that
thing goes up, and it's just not a sustainable premium
increase at that point. Guess what, you can convert this
thing anytime you want to. All Right, they're just kind
(07:06):
of using that sales that a little bit of a
kind of a scare tactic, which I really hate that,
by the way, so just be I think the message
there is just be very very very careful. And you know,
long term care insurance a long time ago, many many
many many years ago, a few decades back, it was
sold as, hey, you want to buy a nursing home policy.
(07:27):
You're like a what, yeah, yeah, I mean it'll pay
for your stay in a nursing home. And doesn't that
sound wonderful? And most people are like no thanks, And
so they sold a lot of them, but they're very limited.
They're very strictly limited to long term care and then
as and many of them have the lifetime benefits. That's
(07:49):
what made it attractive. Oh, I can pay these premiums
and then when I need to move into long term care.
A lot of people still refer to that as a
nursing home. It's really expended. If I'm going to make
you know, this thing's going to you know, pay me
X dollars a day, that's going to cover my cost
or most of my cost for life, and I don't
have to worry about that, and I don't have to
worry about eating into the rest of my resources and assets,
(08:11):
et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, yeah, let's go ahead and
do that. So those lifetime benefits, that was a major
selling feature on those things. Now the newer policies. I
didn't think you could get a lifetime benefit, but I
was corrected by an insurance broker, and I guess you
still can. I think it's pretty expensive, but the newer
(08:32):
policies are a lot more flexible. So of course they'll
pay for long term care also known as a nursing home,
but now they're much more flexible. They will also pay
for the assisted living level of care. They'll pay for
adult daycare typically and home care that's hourly non medical
in home assistance in your home maybe four six eight
(08:55):
hours a day will pay x dou So your daily
benefit pays, you know, hundred two hundred, threehundred, four hundred
dollars a day, whatever your benefit is. Okay, it'll start
paying that for even for home care services. Most of
the newer policies do that. Now I get a lot
of a lot of questions on this. Well, I don't know, Steve,
(09:15):
I mean, I mean, do I do I really need
to buy that that long term care insurance saying, because
I mean, yeah, what if I don't use it? Okay? Well,
so why do you have auto insurance car insurance? Well,
you're paying what one hundred couple hundred bucks a month
whatever it is, maybe plus or minus depending on your
(09:38):
driver's record. Well, what if you don't use that, you're
still paying for it. Well, Steve, that's just in case
I get into wreck, then they'll they'll replace, they'll repair
or replace my car. Okay, Well, then why would you
have different thinking and home owns too, Well, that's in case,
you know, I have damage to my house and it'll
it'll repair my house and fix it. Same thing you're
(10:02):
paying for long term care insurance, because what if you
need to move into long term care or assisted living
or whatever the case may be, it will pay the
cost of that. It's the same thing. Okay, So again
I recommend it perfect age fifty five plus or minus
five years. That's kind of the sweet spot to me
(10:24):
to buy long term care insurance. I'm going to have
a whole lot more coming up next, but first the
Senior Care Live Question of the Week. Senior Care Consulting
is a free referral service like all of the others
in the marketplace. Is that statement true or false? What
do you think?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. For more information, visit seniorcare Live dot com.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
We'll have more with Steve coming up next.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
A recent Internet search for nursing homes in Kansas City
provided thirty two million results. It's daunting to think that
there are over three hundred and fifty senior care communities
to choose from in the Kansas City metro and on
average you'll spend fifty to one hundred hours trying to
find a place for your loved one. If this sounds overwhelming,
that's because it is. I invite you to reach out
(11:24):
to Senior Care Consulting. We've been serving family since two
thousand and two. With our premium service, we do most
of the work for you. You'll spend just a few hours
of your time finding the best place available, and you
can trust us to be objective because we don't receive
reimbursement from any provider. We work for you to learn more,
(11:46):
call Senior Care Consulting at nine three nine four five
twenty eight hundred nine nine four five twenty eight hundred,
a placement service with integrity at Seniorcare Consulting dot com.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. For more information, go to seniorcare Live dot com.
Now back to the Senior Care Live question of the week,
Senior Care Consulting. My firm is a free referral service,
just like all of the others in the marketplace. Is
(12:29):
that statement true or false? And the answer is false?
The answer is false, no, And I said, I'm not
gonna swear heck no. See, Darren didn't even have to
hit the dump button on that one. So he's giving
(12:50):
me the thumbs up over there, like, hey, good job
there for biting your tongue. We are not a free
referral service, and I am oh proud of that. And
then there's this.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. This is a consumer alert.
Consumer alert, all right. This is one of the reasons
why I'm I like to make that distinction. We're not
a free referral service. We're proud of it, So be
very careful when choosing to work for a free referral service.
(13:29):
I've warned my audience about this for so many times.
Here's how they work. Very quickly.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
They contract with any senior care provider willing to pay
them a ton of money for their leads, for their referrals.
So when you contact them, first of all, they own
your name. They own you. You are the product, and
they own you. They own your name, your phone number,
your address, et cetera. They send that information, your personal
(13:57):
information to an inn complete short list of business partners
in the area. Okay, some senior care communities. I saw
one of them the other day that bragged about how
many senior care communities are contracted with. And then I
did a quick calculation. Guess how many senior care communities
(14:20):
they're contracted with. That that's the place that they would
recommend twenty twenty percent of the market. So when I
say they forward your personal information to an incomplete list
of their business partners in the area, that's what I'm
talking about. They are. And then once they send your
information to their short list of business partners, day the
(14:41):
business partners, they're all in a race to see who
can get to you first. Your phone will explode with
phone calls from aggressive sales reps trying to get you
in the building. They're trying to make the sale. If
you choose one of their business partners, they get paid
a very high percentage of the first month's cost in
(15:03):
a commission, or what some would term a kickback. This
could be three four thousand dollars, six seven, eight thousand
dollars or maybe even more. That's a lot of money.
I highly recommend this place. You choose it, and then
they get their seven or eight thousand dollars check. Isn't
that neat? So let's see how some of the poor
(15:27):
people who fell for it, who took the bait of
the very powerful word free, see what they have to
say about their experience. These are some publicly available consumer
complaints listed with the Better Business Bureau, and I'm just
gonna go. I'm just gonna highlight these. I could read
these for hours. By the way, this is on a
(15:50):
particular one. Here's a complaint one of them. They keep
calling and emailing me and I can't stop it. That
sounds fantastic, done it. Here's another one. I contacted this
(16:10):
particular free referral service, explained up front, I was not
able to respond to questions regarding the elderly person's financial situation.
The representative repeatedly talked over me. I had to keep
asking if I could complete my statement. This representative from
(16:32):
this free referral service was only interested in the financial information.
And you know, I even had I had a client
that said, Steve, you know we were looking forward to
working with you. You have a fantastic service, full transparency.
We called, you know, one of these particular free referral services,
started a nice conversation, and then she said it shifted
(16:54):
abruptly to how much money does your mom have? And
she's like, oh, oh, I guess the night cities are over. Okay, well,
mother has very limited means, and in fact, my husband
and I contribute to her financial situation every month just
to kind of make everything work. She said, the tone
just completely changed. She barked out a government website for
(17:16):
me to go looking, and said we can't help you,
and just abruptly just practically hung up on the phone.
That was her encounter with one of these free referral services.
Here's another one. At first, for whatever reason, I didn't
realize that this particular free referral service was a referral business.
(17:37):
And within seconds of just browsing their web page and
putting in my phone number just for an inquiry. I
was even totally serious. So they're just browsing and put
in a number. Just within seconds of that, I received
a phone call and they left a message. However, since then,
(17:58):
I kid you not, I've received a minimum of six
calls per day between eight thirty am and three thirty
pm today alone. They called it eight thirty, eight, forty two,
ten fifteen, ten thirty, one thirty and three pm. Really,
come on, people, you want my business, don't call me
(18:20):
multiple times in one day. I have since then blocked
their number. These are publicly available better business complaints about
one of these particular places. One of them says they
will not stop calling even after telling them my mother
(18:41):
is deceased. Unbelievable, Okay. And then this last one, I mean,
this one kind of goes on for a while. They
call this particular free referral service. My mom's health suddenly
was in decline, and before we could meet with anyone,
my mom suddenly passed away. The calls kept coming, though,
(19:04):
because they knew my father had dementia. I'll let them
know that we're moving our dad in with us. Still,
the calls continued constantly. My father passed away seven months
after my mother did. The calls won't stop. I tell
them every time both of my parents have passed away.
It's all been hard enough to deal with without being
(19:25):
harassed by these people constantly. They're pushy and rude, and
I would suggest no one ever contact them unless they
want to be harassed constantly for the rest of your life.
Their commercials make them sound so caring, but obviously they're not.
I could read these for a few hours. I'm just
(19:46):
giving you It's kind of the tip of the iceberg here. Okay,
these are publicly available Better Business Bureau complaints about just
one of the free referral services out there, and there
are a bunch of them, all right, So be very
careful and think twice before reaching out and contacting any
(20:12):
free referral service. And as I've always said, you get
what you pay for. Proceed with caution. This has been
a consumer alert brought to you by Senior Care Live.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
All right.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Is that unbelievable? I mean, it's if I didn't read
it for myself, I would think this is a joke.
It's no joke at all. And coming up next, I'm
going to tell you about a new flavor of free
referral services.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. Have a question, visit seniorcare live dot com.
Stick around. We'll have more with Steve coming up next.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Hello, this is Steve Keeker, President of Senior Care Consulting.
I'm so excited to announce that we are expanding nationwide
by awarding Senior Care Consulting franchises. We help our clients
find the right senior care community, including assistant living, memory care,
long term care, and continuing care retirement communities. We are
(21:22):
not another run of the mill free referral service. We're
very different. We offer replacement service with integrity. Owning a
senior care consulting franchise offers many benefits. Our market is
not affected by the economy. Operate from your home office
and enjoy work life balance. Pour your passion into a
business you can be proud of. For more information about
(21:45):
owning a senior care consulting franchise, call eight three three
seven two two three seven two six eight three three
seven two two three seven two six or visit Seniorcareconsulting
dot com. Welcome back. You're listening to Senior Care Live
(22:09):
on the Senior Care Broadcasting Network. For podcasts of the program,
visit Seniorcare Live dot com or wherever you get your podcasts.
All Right, so I kind of feel a little bit
a little bit grumpy today, and I hope I'm not
sounding negative, but I always go back to the mission.
(22:30):
This keeps me grounded every every single time. If I
feel like I'm going off the rails a little bit,
and I haven't sworn yet, that's pretty good. Darren hasn't
had to hit the dump button. But here's the mission
of the of Senior Care Live. The mission is to
provide information, education, and resources for seniors and their caregivers, period,
(22:52):
full statement and stop. That's it. And so this is
information and education that is very very important for so
many people to understand because these free referral services, Man,
they're just growing like weed. There's like a new one
every other week, I think. And so anyway, let me
(23:14):
not get too far off track here. So now we
have a new flavor, what I call a new flavor
of the free referral services in the market. They will
meet with you in person. Sounds like a more caring
and personable approach, right. They will tour facilities with you.
(23:36):
They'll tour the facilities with their business partners, trying to
make the sale. You need to understand that trying to
make the sale for their business partners, so that their
business partners will have an increase in their senses. It
(23:56):
seems like a more hands on and personal approach. Right.
But again, if you choose one of their contracted facilities,
again I like to call them their business partners, they
receive a huge kickback. So their revenue model is exactly
(24:16):
the same as the one I referenced above, with all
of the complaints, The revenue models the same. They have
a vested interest in you choosing one of their partner facilities.
In my humble opinion, in a lot of other people's opinion,
(24:37):
this is a built in gross conflict of interest. Don't
fall for it, folks. Don't fall for it, or if
you do fall for it, proceede at caution. Proceed with
your eyes wide open. So how do you know if
a company that you're speaking with or thinking about engaging
(24:59):
with is one of these free referral services. Here's your clue.
I'm gonna let you in on it. If it is
free to you, then they get paid by their contracted
business partners. In other words, if it's free to you,
they get paid huge sums of money by the places
(25:22):
they recommend. That's it. So how do you know how
to identify them? I'm going to make it so simple
for you to look for one word, and that word
is free. And free is such a powerful word, so powerful.
But if it's free to you, and that's exactly how
(25:46):
it works, that's it. Period. Didn't your parents ever tell you, Hey,
if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
How are they get paid? How do they get paid?
And one more thing, if they really want to be transparent, oh,
(26:08):
we have nothing to hide. How many times have I
heard that? Ask them this simple question? It's so direct.
Here's the question you ask them. How much do you
get paid if I choose the place you're recommending? So
(26:29):
that's a fair question. How much do you get paid
if I choose the place they're recommending? You know, if
you buy a house, all of the commissions have to
be stated out in print, out in the open. So
I think it's a fair question. How much do you
get paid if I choose the place you're recommending. Now,
(26:52):
if they try to avoid the question, there's your clue.
Or if they try to come up some generic answer, well,
you know we're paid by our partners all around the country.
You know all this. They're trained to avoid this question, folks,
trust me. If they try to avoid that question or
dance around it him haw, et cetera, then they are
(27:16):
really not wanting to answer that question. So if their model,
if their revenue model is just fine, oh it's just great,
with no issues whatsoever, why are they avoiding this simple question? Why?
Speaker 4 (27:32):
Why?
Speaker 2 (27:34):
I think it's pretty obvious. So I worked with just
the nicest lady and she needed help, She needed placement
on behalf of her husband, and God bless him, he
had dementia. The sweetest guy I met him. His name
is Russ, sweet guy, great guy, and she did a
(27:57):
great job being his caregiver. She also had her ninety
don't quote me on this, maybe four year old father
living with them in the home. So she's caring for
two men, her dad and her husband now with dementia.
And she says, Steve, I'm going to go on as
long as I can. She had been caring for them
(28:18):
for years. She did a great job, fantastic job, she said.
I don't know how much longer I can do this,
She said, I'm not ready to move yet, but I
want to be proactive, just like you're always talking about
on your radio program. I want to be proactive so
that I can find a place, get my name on
the wait list, and then move when I want to move.
(28:40):
So we did that. It was last year, and we toured,
we toured a community. She made a choice, a great choice,
and it was in the spring, and then she ended
up moving her husband in the fall, about six months later,
which is roughly kind of the timeline that she had
in mind. She moved in. He's getting great care. She
can now I'll go back to being his wife rather
(29:02):
than his caregiver. Is working out beautifully, just like it,
like it always does. All that was done, taken care of.
And about a week or two later, I get an
email from a representative from that particular community and the
subject line was invoice. And I'm looking at that going invoice, Well,
I don't owe you any money.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
What is this about.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I get into the email, opened it up, Steve. Thanks
for referring and my clients to them. He's doing great,
et cetera, et cetera. Hey, don't forget to send me
your invoice for six seven hundred and fifty dollars so
I can get you paid. I'm like, oh, my gosh,
you got to be kidney. She forgot my business model.
And I'm not mad at her at all. She forgot
(29:48):
she thought Senior Care Consulting was another one of these
free referral services that they're going to Oh, one hundred
percent of the this was equaling one hundred percent of
the first month's cost for my client. Seven hundred and
fifty dollars is what she pays every month. Hey, Steve,
don't forget to send me an invoice so I can
send you the big fat check of six thousand, seven
(30:10):
hundred and fifty dollars. So I called her back and
I was chuckling, and I said, you forgot my business model,
didn't you. She goes remind me right. She's a super
nice lady. I love her, and I explained that Senior
Care Consulting is not a free referral service I mentioned earlier.
And I'm really proud of that not another run of
(30:32):
the mill free referral service the world doesn't need anymore.
We've got plenty enough that Senior Care Consulting works on
a flat fee for service. So our clients retain us
to help them through the process, that search and selection process,
and they pay us a reasonable flat fee for service
to objectively guide them through the search and selection process.
(30:54):
They retain us just like you would retain an attorney
or a tax accountant or any other professional service provider
that would help you through a process. And I said, so, ma'am,
I said, you don't owe me anything at all. We
don't accept kickbacks. We have not received a penny from
any provider for over twenty two years. It's just not
(31:18):
part of our model. And she's like, that's right. I
forgot about that. She said, that is so fantastic what
you're doing. You're doing business the right way, Steve, keep
up the good work. And we had a little bit
of a chuckle and then we just moved on. So
there is some there's my black and white proof. Because
I was offered, what if this would have been one
(31:39):
of the free referral services highly recommend in this place,
and then you choose the place and move your loved
one into it. They're going to get the giant fat
kickback of six thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars, So
no wonder they highly recommend the place right They have
a vested interest in you choose seeing one of their
(32:01):
business partners. That is their revenue model. And although they
could take you to a place that's not on their list,
how do you think they pay their card payment, their
house payment, and buy food for their families, et cetera,
et cetera. They make money when you choose one of
their business clients. Period. So coming up next, I'm just
(32:21):
going to do a brief review of Senior Care Consulting
in our business model. Again, we offer a placement service
with integrity. Then I'm going to talk about expansion opportunities,
because guess what Senior Care Consulting is expanding throughout America.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. To contact Steve or a guest on his show,
this is Seniorcare Live dot com.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
We'll have more coming up.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
So you've been living independently at home, but now it's
not working out. It's time to begin searching for a
senior care community. But with hundreds of independent living, assisted living,
long term care, and memory care options, how are you
supposed to determine the best place for you? Hello, I'm
Steve Keeker, and this is exactly why I created my firm,
(33:23):
Senior Care Consulting. I help my own grandparents through this
difficult process, so I know how overwhelming this can be.
Our business model ensures credibility and objectivity. We work directly
for you and we never receive reimbursement from any provider.
We've helped hundreds of families since two thousand and two,
(33:44):
and we can help you and your family as well.
Call today for a free consultation at nine one three
nine four five twenty eight hundred. Nine one three nine
four five twenty eight hundred a placement service with integrity
at Senior care Can Insulting dot com and welcome back.
(34:11):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. Have a question visit Senior Care Live dot com.
Let me contrast the business model of Senior Care Consulting
with all every single one of these quote unquote free
(34:32):
referral services. They're not free at all, folks. I think
I've already kind of beat that one to death, I think. So,
first of all, Senior Care Consulting, we I think we
do this. This is my opinion and a lot of
opinion of a lot of other people.
Speaker 4 (34:49):
You know.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
I have people now calling me, hey, Steve, tell me
one thing. Do you get kickbacks from the places that
you're going to show us? Do you get paid by them?
I'm like, no, sir, not one single penny. I work
for you.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Good.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Then we can continue this conversation, because I want someone
working on our behalf, not trying to make a sale
for one of their business partners. I get that, and
I'm like, I'm so happy that you get that. You
just made my day. Right. So, Senior Care Consulting for
a reasonable flat fee for service, we help you objectively
through the search and selection process. It's very very simple,
(35:25):
very very transparent. This is what I did with for
my own grandparents many years ago that led to developing
this service to help other families in this same way
that I help my own family. So, first of all,
we would meet, I conduct a proprietary geriatric care assessment.
I ask all the questions together, all of the necessary
information that would answer the Big five plus a lot
(35:47):
of other ones. But what level of care do we need,
what type of care, the payment methods, location, personal preferences
and needs, and there's a lot more to it than that,
but you got to know those things to know what
you're looking for. That is what I call building the
care file. Now I have a detailed description of exactly
what we're looking for, and then we research the entire marketplace,
not a short list, not twenty percent of the market.
(36:09):
We research one hundred percent of the market, and we
identify our top providers. And then the next step is
we go out and we take a tour with you,
and we're there to see everything that we need to see.
Meet some people, talk with some folks, and then I
ask a lot of questions on behalf of my clients.
And I'm a former nursing home and assistant living administrator
(36:34):
and executive director, so I think I look at this
differently than most folks. I'm less interested in the bling
of the place right and the marble and the fountains
and that, trust me, all that's very very nice. I'm
a lot more interested in substantial questions that would reflect
what we could expect when receiving care from them. So
(36:56):
I ask a lot of questions that frankly, most of
my clients would never even know to ask. Again, I
have I have on my administrator glasses on behalf of
you and your family. Ask a lot of questions. And
this isn't some interrogation. They're just really good questions and
they're received very well in the marketplace. And they're like, yeah, Steve,
that that's a really good question. You're lucky to have
(37:16):
him walking alongside you through this because he's asking really
good questions that most people just don't and so and
I get that compliment all the time, and that's I
really appreciate that. But we go in, we see everything
we need to see, we talk with some folks, got
a lot of information. We're in and out of each
(37:36):
place very very quickly. We're usually done by about one o'clock,
maybe even a little bit sooner. So the secondary benefit
is the time savings. Let me put in perspective, the
average family, if they're trying to do their homework, they're
trying to.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Get it right.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
They're spending fifty to one hundred hours running around looking
at all this stuff and online and all the stuff. Right,
my clients are done in about four hours. Boom they're done.
So it's a huge time saver. But the primary benefit
is the output of the entire process. I create a
report that has all the information, all the questions asked,
(38:13):
information discovered. I calculate exact staffing ratios. I report to
you with the state found in its most recent surprise
health inspection. So now you have a wealth of information
on the top places meeting your exact needs. You can
make an informed decision and move forward with confidence. That
is what it's all about. So if you need help
(38:34):
with that, give us a call at Senior Care Consulting
nine one three, nine four five twenty eight hundred. You
can reach out through the website Seniorcare Consulting dot com.
We can help you. We would be honored to help
you make one of the most important decisions of your
entire lifetime. That's what we do every single day. It's
(38:56):
deeply personal to us. So if you think like me
and you're like, wait a minute, that sounds really good,
maybe I'd like to offer that service in my market. Well,
first of all, you'll stick out like a sore thumb
in a really good way because you're not another free
referral service. You're not like I say, you're not another
(39:19):
run of the mill free referral service. Trust me. Elder
law to state planning attorneys. They will love that. There's
no conflict of interest or vested interest here. Financial advisors
who are who have a fiduciary approach, fiduciary model, they
will totally get this. They doctors, hospitals, home health providers,
(39:41):
home care providers, hospice providers, could go on and on
and on and on and on. Everyone loves this approach.
I call it a placement service with integrity. So if
you work in the business of senior care, or maybe
you have a lot of caregiving experience, and you just
get it. And if you're interested in owning your own business,
(40:05):
in doing the business the right way, offering a placement
service with integrity, you need to give me a call.
We needed to talk because Senior Care Consulting is now
expanding through the franchise model, so I'll be awarding franchises
in most of the states, not all of the states.
Give me a call if you have a question. We're
(40:25):
in most of the states. Okay, here's the phone number
eight three three scc FRAN. Sorry're like Steve, I'm I'm
not what are the numbers?
Speaker 3 (40:39):
Don't do that to me.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
I kind of like it. Scc fran eight three three
seven two two three seven two six. If you don't
want to make it even easier, just go to Senior
Care Consulting dot com. Hit the franchise tab and there's
an inquiryform. You can send us an email throughout the form,
give us a call, let's talk about that. Also, here
(41:01):
we are, it's Mother's Day weekend. Don't forget our friends
at Grandpad they're offering and so they're offering it, you know,
the Saturday and Sunday of Mother's Day weekend, and that's
it's going to expire after Mother's Day. They're offering two
hundred and fifty dollars off. That's a thirty two percent
discount for Grandpad. We talked last week with Scott Lean
(41:22):
what a well, have a phenomenal product. It's their biggest
savings ever. Just visit grandpad dot net. You can call
them at one eight hundred and seven oh four nine
four one two. I would check that out. It's fantastic
And last but not least, here we are and Mother's
Day weekend. To my wonderful mom. She is my biggest cheerleader.
(41:45):
She has been my entire life. Thanks Mom, and Happy
Mother's Day weekend to you, and thanks to my incredible wife, Susan.
I have no idea how I got so lucky. I
have no idea what I would do without you. Happy
Mother's Day, Susan, and Happy Mother's Day to all of
(42:06):
the great moms out there. I hope you have just
a lovely weekend. I hope you are treated like a queen.
I hope you are reminded on Mother's Day just how
special and how loved you are. Happy Mother's Day everyone,
(42:26):
all right. I'm Steve Keeker, and I wish you grace
and peace. May God bless you and your family on
this day and always join me next week right here
on Senior Care Live.
Speaker 5 (42:52):
Does your business serve the elderly and their caregivers in
our area? There are hundreds of thousands of people either
receiving or providing senior care and they need to know
about you. A unique and successful radio program called Senior
Care Live is the perfect opportunity to let your target
audience know about your amazing products and services. Senior Care
(43:13):
Live is currently adding a limited number of partner sponsors
and if you're aligned with their mission, they want to
talk to you. They're interested in partnering with hospital organizations,
physician groups, home care providers, a state planning and older
law practices, financial advisors, insurance companies, real estate brokers, home
health agencies, and other providers serving the elderly and their caregivers.
(43:36):
Senior Care Live has a limited number of partner sponsor opportunities,
so call now at nine one three nine four five
twenty eight hundred nine one three nine four five twenty
eight hundred or visit seniorcare live dot com seniorcare live
dot com.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
Quid pro quo a Latin phrase that means an exchange
of goods or services where one transfer is contingent upon
the Here's an example. I'll recommend your senior care community
if you'll pay me a huge kickback from my referral.
The free referral services have a vested interest in you
choosing one of their business partners. That's how they make
(44:14):
their money. Does this paid recommendation sound objective or credible?
Of course not. I'm Steve Keeker with Senior Care Consulting.
I'm so proud to say we have never received a
single penny from any provider ever. We offer replacement service
with integrity for help finding the right senior care community,
without conflict of interest and without the quid pro quo
(44:38):
called nine to one three nine four five twenty eight
hundred nine one three nine four five twenty eight hundred
Replacement Service with integrity at Seniorcare Consulting dot com.
Speaker 4 (44:51):
Hi. This is Carrie Hole with an important message about
Medicare benefits. You may be eligiblefore but don't know about it.
They're called Medicare Special Needs programs. If you're a Medicare
recipient or a caregiver, here's what you need to know.
There are three programs you may qualify for. The first
is Medicare C SNIP for people with chronic conditions like asthma,
heart disease, diabetes, and more. The second is Medicare D SNIP.
(45:14):
If you are currently on a Medicaid plan, you may
qualify for this dual eligible plan while keeping your full
Medicaid benefits. The third plan is Medicare I SNIP. If
you're in an institution like a nursing home or at home,
but require an equivalent level of care, you may qualify
for this plan and OURPS benefits by design. They're certified
Medicare specialists that can walk you through these programs and
(45:36):
help you qualify. Joyce Thompson and Carol Lee Steele Call
Today eight seven seven three eight five twenty two twenty four.
That's eight seven seven three eight five, twenty two twenty four.
Once again eight seven seven three eight five twenty two
twenty four
Are you caring for an aging loved one? Are you
a senior searching for answers? Welcome to Senior Care Live,
a program dedicated to you, providing information, education, and resources
for seniors and their caregivers. And now America's Senior care Consultant.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Steve Keecker, Hello and welcome to Senior Care Live. I'm
Steve Keeker. You're Senior Care Consultant, and I really appreciate
you tuning in today. This show may sound a little
bit grumpy, so I'll just I'm gonna be warning you
about some stuff here. Hopefully I don't yell too much,
(00:41):
and I won't swear, or I'll try not to swear,
and if I do, our wonderful producer Darren will cut
that out or hit.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
The I make no guarantees.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Okay, he may hit the dump button on me. I
don't know. Anyway, I got some stuff on my mind here.
As they say, so, let's just jump into this. AH,
be very protective of your long term care insurance policy.
(01:12):
Well what do you mean by that, Steve? I got
a long term care insurance policy. What do I need
to be protective of? I have heard from way way
too many people about some questionable sales tactics and efforts
of some companies out there, not all of them, some
of them to get long term care insurance policy holders
(01:36):
to convert. There, I'm putting on my air quotes their
old long term care insurance policy to a here's another
air quote, new and improved long term care insurance policy.
But here's the problem. These old policies, or many of
these old policies, have a lifetime benefit. And let me
(02:00):
tell you if you need to use your long term
care insurance, and that's why you buy insurance, just to
cover the need if you should need it. And by
the way, depending on what study you look at, seventy
percent to seventy five percent of us will need, require
and pay for long term care at some point in
(02:23):
our life. Okay, a lot of these air quote old
oh that's an old policy. A lot of them have
lifetime benefits. If you need that, that thing's worth its
weight in gold, maybe platinum. The challenge for the company
some of these companies its just I didn't think.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I don't think they.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Work their actual actuarial tables, easy for me to say properly.
And these lifetime benefits on some of these older policies
that are sitting out there now now being activated if
you will. They're costing these companies a fortune. But you've
paid premiums on these things for fifteen, twenty thirty years,
(03:08):
so you deserve that benefit. That's what you've paid for.
But again, these lifetime benefits, they could be paying four, five, six, ten, twelve,
I mean many, many, many years, huge money. So some
of them, not all of them. Some of them are
trying to talk their policy holders out of keeping them.
(03:30):
Oh that's an old policy. You need a new and
improved policy. And guess what. That new and improved policy
does not have a lifetime benefit. It will cap out
of their out of pocket or their maximum cost at
three years or five years or whatever it is. And
they may even lower the daily benefit to try to
(03:53):
get you that new and improved Oh, this is a
new and improved one. No. Now, some of them may
be new and improved, depending on what you have, but
a lot of them are not. So one of my clients,
A has a father, has a very nice policy. It
was this thing. Look, this thing's going to pay for
anything he may need. He pumped a ton of money
(04:14):
into this thing. Has a lifetime benefit she's getting ready
to activate that policy, so we'll start paying out. But
this gentleman, God bless him, he has dementia. And she
was sharing with me that several sales reps have been
calling him very frequently to try to get him to
(04:37):
change to a new and improved policy. And I said, no, no, no, no, no, no,
don't let them do that. She's like, I know, but
you know what if my dad one of these times
says sure, yeah, let's go ahead and do that, she said,
I'm just scared to death. So we had a good
talk about that. She had to invoke her power of
(04:57):
attorney and step in and takeover for this particular situation.
She had her lawyer write a cease and desist letter
telling this particular company and all their very aggressive sales
reps to not contact him at all. All correspondents will
(05:17):
now be handled by his daughter. She had the proper
power of attorney. It was all taken care of and
they stopped calling him. So the messages or the question is,
do you have a parent with one of these really
great policies, and if so, are they receiving calls from
(05:38):
company representatives wanting to shift them away from that and
get them to convert it into a new and improved policy.
And if that's the case, you I would suggest taking
a good hard look at that to see if that
is in your best interest or not, and especially if
your loved one has dementia, and you know, they may
(06:02):
unintentionally oh yeah, that sounds pretty good, because they're not
capable of maybe thinking that through very clearly, right, God
bless them. You may need to step in and take
over as well, just like my client did for her dad.
Another incident, a friend who's a financial advisor called me
about one of his clients and evidently there's a settlement
(06:23):
involving as a long term care insurance company and they're
now offering to convert old policies to the new and
improved policies, and they're using what what's somewhat of a
kind of a little bit of a scare tactic. With
that looming rate increase coming, Oh oh it is going
to go up, you know, by ten percent, I recommend,
(06:44):
you know, getting into one of these locking into one
of these new and improved policies, and you know, and
but I recommend he, hey, keep the policy if that
thing goes up, and it's just not a sustainable premium
increase at that point. Guess what, you can convert this
thing anytime you want to. All Right, they're just kind
(07:06):
of using that sales that a little bit of a
kind of a scare tactic, which I really hate that,
by the way, so just be I think the message
there is just be very very very careful. And you know,
long term care insurance a long time ago, many many
many many years ago, a few decades back, it was
sold as, hey, you want to buy a nursing home policy.
(07:27):
You're like a what, yeah, yeah, I mean it'll pay
for your stay in a nursing home. And doesn't that
sound wonderful? And most people are like no thanks, And
so they sold a lot of them, but they're very limited.
They're very strictly limited to long term care and then
as and many of them have the lifetime benefits. That's
(07:49):
what made it attractive. Oh, I can pay these premiums
and then when I need to move into long term care.
A lot of people still refer to that as a
nursing home. It's really expended. If I'm going to make
you know, this thing's going to you know, pay me
X dollars a day, that's going to cover my cost
or most of my cost for life, and I don't
have to worry about that, and I don't have to
worry about eating into the rest of my resources and assets,
(08:11):
et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, yeah, let's go ahead and
do that. So those lifetime benefits, that was a major
selling feature on those things. Now the newer policies. I
didn't think you could get a lifetime benefit, but I
was corrected by an insurance broker, and I guess you
still can. I think it's pretty expensive, but the newer
(08:32):
policies are a lot more flexible. So of course they'll
pay for long term care also known as a nursing home,
but now they're much more flexible. They will also pay
for the assisted living level of care. They'll pay for
adult daycare typically and home care that's hourly non medical
in home assistance in your home maybe four six eight
(08:55):
hours a day will pay x dou So your daily
benefit pays, you know, hundred two hundred, threehundred, four hundred
dollars a day, whatever your benefit is. Okay, it'll start
paying that for even for home care services. Most of
the newer policies do that. Now I get a lot
of a lot of questions on this. Well, I don't know, Steve,
(09:15):
I mean, I mean, do I do I really need
to buy that that long term care insurance saying, because
I mean, yeah, what if I don't use it? Okay? Well,
so why do you have auto insurance car insurance? Well,
you're paying what one hundred couple hundred bucks a month
whatever it is, maybe plus or minus depending on your
(09:38):
driver's record. Well, what if you don't use that, you're
still paying for it. Well, Steve, that's just in case
I get into wreck, then they'll they'll replace, they'll repair
or replace my car. Okay, Well, then why would you
have different thinking and home owns too, Well, that's in case,
you know, I have damage to my house and it'll
it'll repair my house and fix it. Same thing you're
(10:02):
paying for long term care insurance, because what if you
need to move into long term care or assisted living
or whatever the case may be, it will pay the
cost of that. It's the same thing. Okay, So again
I recommend it perfect age fifty five plus or minus
five years. That's kind of the sweet spot to me
(10:24):
to buy long term care insurance. I'm going to have
a whole lot more coming up next, but first the
Senior Care Live Question of the Week. Senior Care Consulting
is a free referral service like all of the others
in the marketplace. Is that statement true or false? What
do you think?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. For more information, visit seniorcare Live dot com.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
We'll have more with Steve coming up next.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
A recent Internet search for nursing homes in Kansas City
provided thirty two million results. It's daunting to think that
there are over three hundred and fifty senior care communities
to choose from in the Kansas City metro and on
average you'll spend fifty to one hundred hours trying to
find a place for your loved one. If this sounds overwhelming,
that's because it is. I invite you to reach out
(11:24):
to Senior Care Consulting. We've been serving family since two
thousand and two. With our premium service, we do most
of the work for you. You'll spend just a few hours
of your time finding the best place available, and you
can trust us to be objective because we don't receive
reimbursement from any provider. We work for you to learn more,
(11:46):
call Senior Care Consulting at nine three nine four five
twenty eight hundred nine nine four five twenty eight hundred,
a placement service with integrity at Seniorcare Consulting dot com.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. For more information, go to seniorcare Live dot com.
Now back to the Senior Care Live question of the week,
Senior Care Consulting. My firm is a free referral service,
just like all of the others in the marketplace. Is
(12:29):
that statement true or false? And the answer is false?
The answer is false, no, And I said, I'm not
gonna swear heck no. See, Darren didn't even have to
hit the dump button on that one. So he's giving
(12:50):
me the thumbs up over there, like, hey, good job
there for biting your tongue. We are not a free
referral service, and I am oh proud of that. And
then there's this.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. This is a consumer alert.
Consumer alert, all right. This is one of the reasons
why I'm I like to make that distinction. We're not
a free referral service. We're proud of it, So be
very careful when choosing to work for a free referral service.
(13:29):
I've warned my audience about this for so many times.
Here's how they work. Very quickly.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
They contract with any senior care provider willing to pay
them a ton of money for their leads, for their referrals.
So when you contact them, first of all, they own
your name. They own you. You are the product, and
they own you. They own your name, your phone number,
your address, et cetera. They send that information, your personal
(13:57):
information to an inn complete short list of business partners
in the area. Okay, some senior care communities. I saw
one of them the other day that bragged about how
many senior care communities are contracted with. And then I
did a quick calculation. Guess how many senior care communities
(14:20):
they're contracted with. That that's the place that they would
recommend twenty twenty percent of the market. So when I
say they forward your personal information to an incomplete list
of their business partners in the area, that's what I'm
talking about. They are. And then once they send your
information to their short list of business partners, day the
(14:41):
business partners, they're all in a race to see who
can get to you first. Your phone will explode with
phone calls from aggressive sales reps trying to get you
in the building. They're trying to make the sale. If
you choose one of their business partners, they get paid
a very high percentage of the first month's cost in
(15:03):
a commission, or what some would term a kickback. This
could be three four thousand dollars, six seven, eight thousand
dollars or maybe even more. That's a lot of money.
I highly recommend this place. You choose it, and then
they get their seven or eight thousand dollars check. Isn't
that neat? So let's see how some of the poor
(15:27):
people who fell for it, who took the bait of
the very powerful word free, see what they have to
say about their experience. These are some publicly available consumer
complaints listed with the Better Business Bureau, and I'm just
gonna go. I'm just gonna highlight these. I could read
these for hours. By the way, this is on a
(15:50):
particular one. Here's a complaint one of them. They keep
calling and emailing me and I can't stop it. That
sounds fantastic, done it. Here's another one. I contacted this
(16:10):
particular free referral service, explained up front, I was not
able to respond to questions regarding the elderly person's financial situation.
The representative repeatedly talked over me. I had to keep
asking if I could complete my statement. This representative from
(16:32):
this free referral service was only interested in the financial information.
And you know, I even had I had a client
that said, Steve, you know we were looking forward to
working with you. You have a fantastic service, full transparency.
We called, you know, one of these particular free referral services,
started a nice conversation, and then she said it shifted
(16:54):
abruptly to how much money does your mom have? And
she's like, oh, oh, I guess the night cities are over. Okay, well,
mother has very limited means, and in fact, my husband
and I contribute to her financial situation every month just
to kind of make everything work. She said, the tone
just completely changed. She barked out a government website for
(17:16):
me to go looking, and said we can't help you,
and just abruptly just practically hung up on the phone.
That was her encounter with one of these free referral services.
Here's another one. At first, for whatever reason, I didn't
realize that this particular free referral service was a referral business.
(17:37):
And within seconds of just browsing their web page and
putting in my phone number just for an inquiry. I
was even totally serious. So they're just browsing and put
in a number. Just within seconds of that, I received
a phone call and they left a message. However, since then,
(17:58):
I kid you not, I've received a minimum of six
calls per day between eight thirty am and three thirty
pm today alone. They called it eight thirty, eight, forty two,
ten fifteen, ten thirty, one thirty and three pm. Really,
come on, people, you want my business, don't call me
(18:20):
multiple times in one day. I have since then blocked
their number. These are publicly available better business complaints about
one of these particular places. One of them says they
will not stop calling even after telling them my mother
(18:41):
is deceased. Unbelievable, Okay. And then this last one, I mean,
this one kind of goes on for a while. They
call this particular free referral service. My mom's health suddenly
was in decline, and before we could meet with anyone,
my mom suddenly passed away. The calls kept coming, though,
(19:04):
because they knew my father had dementia. I'll let them
know that we're moving our dad in with us. Still,
the calls continued constantly. My father passed away seven months
after my mother did. The calls won't stop. I tell
them every time both of my parents have passed away.
It's all been hard enough to deal with without being
(19:25):
harassed by these people constantly. They're pushy and rude, and
I would suggest no one ever contact them unless they
want to be harassed constantly for the rest of your life.
Their commercials make them sound so caring, but obviously they're not.
I could read these for a few hours. I'm just
(19:46):
giving you It's kind of the tip of the iceberg here. Okay,
these are publicly available Better Business Bureau complaints about just
one of the free referral services out there, and there
are a bunch of them, all right, So be very
careful and think twice before reaching out and contacting any
(20:12):
free referral service. And as I've always said, you get
what you pay for. Proceed with caution. This has been
a consumer alert brought to you by Senior Care Live.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
All right.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Is that unbelievable? I mean, it's if I didn't read
it for myself, I would think this is a joke.
It's no joke at all. And coming up next, I'm
going to tell you about a new flavor of free
referral services.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. Have a question, visit seniorcare live dot com.
Stick around. We'll have more with Steve coming up next.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Hello, this is Steve Keeker, President of Senior Care Consulting.
I'm so excited to announce that we are expanding nationwide
by awarding Senior Care Consulting franchises. We help our clients
find the right senior care community, including assistant living, memory care,
long term care, and continuing care retirement communities. We are
(21:22):
not another run of the mill free referral service. We're
very different. We offer replacement service with integrity. Owning a
senior care consulting franchise offers many benefits. Our market is
not affected by the economy. Operate from your home office
and enjoy work life balance. Pour your passion into a
business you can be proud of. For more information about
(21:45):
owning a senior care consulting franchise, call eight three three
seven two two three seven two six eight three three
seven two two three seven two six or visit Seniorcareconsulting
dot com. Welcome back. You're listening to Senior Care Live
(22:09):
on the Senior Care Broadcasting Network. For podcasts of the program,
visit Seniorcare Live dot com or wherever you get your podcasts.
All Right, so I kind of feel a little bit
a little bit grumpy today, and I hope I'm not
sounding negative, but I always go back to the mission.
(22:30):
This keeps me grounded every every single time. If I
feel like I'm going off the rails a little bit,
and I haven't sworn yet, that's pretty good. Darren hasn't
had to hit the dump button. But here's the mission
of the of Senior Care Live. The mission is to
provide information, education, and resources for seniors and their caregivers, period,
(22:52):
full statement and stop. That's it. And so this is
information and education that is very very important for so
many people to understand because these free referral services, Man,
they're just growing like weed. There's like a new one
every other week, I think. And so anyway, let me
(23:14):
not get too far off track here. So now we
have a new flavor, what I call a new flavor
of the free referral services in the market. They will
meet with you in person. Sounds like a more caring
and personable approach, right. They will tour facilities with you.
(23:36):
They'll tour the facilities with their business partners, trying to
make the sale. You need to understand that trying to
make the sale for their business partners, so that their
business partners will have an increase in their senses. It
(23:56):
seems like a more hands on and personal approach. Right.
But again, if you choose one of their contracted facilities,
again I like to call them their business partners, they
receive a huge kickback. So their revenue model is exactly
(24:16):
the same as the one I referenced above, with all
of the complaints, The revenue models the same. They have
a vested interest in you choosing one of their partner facilities.
In my humble opinion, in a lot of other people's opinion,
(24:37):
this is a built in gross conflict of interest. Don't
fall for it, folks. Don't fall for it, or if
you do fall for it, proceede at caution. Proceed with
your eyes wide open. So how do you know if
a company that you're speaking with or thinking about engaging
(24:59):
with is one of these free referral services. Here's your clue.
I'm gonna let you in on it. If it is
free to you, then they get paid by their contracted
business partners. In other words, if it's free to you,
they get paid huge sums of money by the places
(25:22):
they recommend. That's it. So how do you know how
to identify them? I'm going to make it so simple
for you to look for one word, and that word
is free. And free is such a powerful word, so powerful.
But if it's free to you, and that's exactly how
(25:46):
it works, that's it. Period. Didn't your parents ever tell you, Hey,
if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
How are they get paid? How do they get paid?
And one more thing, if they really want to be transparent, oh,
(26:08):
we have nothing to hide. How many times have I
heard that? Ask them this simple question? It's so direct.
Here's the question you ask them. How much do you
get paid if I choose the place you're recommending? So
(26:29):
that's a fair question. How much do you get paid
if I choose the place they're recommending? You know, if
you buy a house, all of the commissions have to
be stated out in print, out in the open. So
I think it's a fair question. How much do you
get paid if I choose the place you're recommending. Now,
(26:52):
if they try to avoid the question, there's your clue.
Or if they try to come up some generic answer, well,
you know we're paid by our partners all around the country.
You know all this. They're trained to avoid this question, folks,
trust me. If they try to avoid that question or
dance around it him haw, et cetera, then they are
(27:16):
really not wanting to answer that question. So if their model,
if their revenue model is just fine, oh it's just great,
with no issues whatsoever, why are they avoiding this simple question? Why?
Speaker 4 (27:32):
Why?
Speaker 2 (27:34):
I think it's pretty obvious. So I worked with just
the nicest lady and she needed help, She needed placement
on behalf of her husband, and God bless him, he
had dementia. The sweetest guy I met him. His name
is Russ, sweet guy, great guy, and she did a
(27:57):
great job being his caregiver. She also had her ninety
don't quote me on this, maybe four year old father
living with them in the home. So she's caring for
two men, her dad and her husband now with dementia.
And she says, Steve, I'm going to go on as
long as I can. She had been caring for them
(28:18):
for years. She did a great job, fantastic job, she said.
I don't know how much longer I can do this,
She said, I'm not ready to move yet, but I
want to be proactive, just like you're always talking about
on your radio program. I want to be proactive so
that I can find a place, get my name on
the wait list, and then move when I want to move.
(28:40):
So we did that. It was last year, and we toured,
we toured a community. She made a choice, a great choice,
and it was in the spring, and then she ended
up moving her husband in the fall, about six months later,
which is roughly kind of the timeline that she had
in mind. She moved in. He's getting great care. She
can now I'll go back to being his wife rather
(29:02):
than his caregiver. Is working out beautifully, just like it,
like it always does. All that was done, taken care of.
And about a week or two later, I get an
email from a representative from that particular community and the
subject line was invoice. And I'm looking at that going invoice, Well,
I don't owe you any money.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
What is this about.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I get into the email, opened it up, Steve. Thanks
for referring and my clients to them. He's doing great,
et cetera, et cetera. Hey, don't forget to send me
your invoice for six seven hundred and fifty dollars so
I can get you paid. I'm like, oh, my gosh,
you got to be kidney. She forgot my business model.
And I'm not mad at her at all. She forgot
(29:48):
she thought Senior Care Consulting was another one of these
free referral services that they're going to Oh, one hundred
percent of the this was equaling one hundred percent of
the first month's cost for my client. Seven hundred and
fifty dollars is what she pays every month. Hey, Steve,
don't forget to send me an invoice so I can
send you the big fat check of six thousand, seven
(30:10):
hundred and fifty dollars. So I called her back and
I was chuckling, and I said, you forgot my business model,
didn't you. She goes remind me right. She's a super
nice lady. I love her, and I explained that Senior
Care Consulting is not a free referral service I mentioned earlier.
And I'm really proud of that not another run of
(30:32):
the mill free referral service the world doesn't need anymore.
We've got plenty enough that Senior Care Consulting works on
a flat fee for service. So our clients retain us
to help them through the process, that search and selection process,
and they pay us a reasonable flat fee for service
to objectively guide them through the search and selection process.
(30:54):
They retain us just like you would retain an attorney
or a tax accountant or any other professional service provider
that would help you through a process. And I said, so, ma'am,
I said, you don't owe me anything at all. We
don't accept kickbacks. We have not received a penny from
any provider for over twenty two years. It's just not
(31:18):
part of our model. And she's like, that's right. I
forgot about that. She said, that is so fantastic what
you're doing. You're doing business the right way, Steve, keep
up the good work. And we had a little bit
of a chuckle and then we just moved on. So
there is some there's my black and white proof. Because
I was offered, what if this would have been one
(31:39):
of the free referral services highly recommend in this place,
and then you choose the place and move your loved
one into it. They're going to get the giant fat
kickback of six thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars, So
no wonder they highly recommend the place right They have
a vested interest in you choose seeing one of their
(32:01):
business partners. That is their revenue model. And although they
could take you to a place that's not on their list,
how do you think they pay their card payment, their
house payment, and buy food for their families, et cetera,
et cetera. They make money when you choose one of
their business clients. Period. So coming up next, I'm just
(32:21):
going to do a brief review of Senior Care Consulting
in our business model. Again, we offer a placement service
with integrity. Then I'm going to talk about expansion opportunities,
because guess what Senior Care Consulting is expanding throughout America.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. To contact Steve or a guest on his show,
this is Seniorcare Live dot com.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
We'll have more coming up.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
So you've been living independently at home, but now it's
not working out. It's time to begin searching for a
senior care community. But with hundreds of independent living, assisted living,
long term care, and memory care options, how are you
supposed to determine the best place for you? Hello, I'm
Steve Keeker, and this is exactly why I created my firm,
(33:23):
Senior Care Consulting. I help my own grandparents through this
difficult process, so I know how overwhelming this can be.
Our business model ensures credibility and objectivity. We work directly
for you and we never receive reimbursement from any provider.
We've helped hundreds of families since two thousand and two,
(33:44):
and we can help you and your family as well.
Call today for a free consultation at nine one three
nine four five twenty eight hundred. Nine one three nine
four five twenty eight hundred a placement service with integrity
at Senior care Can Insulting dot com and welcome back.
(34:11):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. Have a question visit Senior Care Live dot com.
Let me contrast the business model of Senior Care Consulting
with all every single one of these quote unquote free
(34:32):
referral services. They're not free at all, folks. I think
I've already kind of beat that one to death, I think. So,
first of all, Senior Care Consulting, we I think we
do this. This is my opinion and a lot of
opinion of a lot of other people.
Speaker 4 (34:49):
You know.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
I have people now calling me, hey, Steve, tell me
one thing. Do you get kickbacks from the places that
you're going to show us? Do you get paid by them?
I'm like, no, sir, not one single penny. I work
for you.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Good.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Then we can continue this conversation, because I want someone
working on our behalf, not trying to make a sale
for one of their business partners. I get that, and
I'm like, I'm so happy that you get that. You
just made my day. Right. So, Senior Care Consulting for
a reasonable flat fee for service, we help you objectively
through the search and selection process. It's very very simple,
(35:25):
very very transparent. This is what I did with for
my own grandparents many years ago that led to developing
this service to help other families in this same way
that I help my own family. So, first of all,
we would meet, I conduct a proprietary geriatric care assessment.
I ask all the questions together, all of the necessary
information that would answer the Big five plus a lot
(35:47):
of other ones. But what level of care do we need,
what type of care, the payment methods, location, personal preferences
and needs, and there's a lot more to it than that,
but you got to know those things to know what
you're looking for. That is what I call building the
care file. Now I have a detailed description of exactly
what we're looking for, and then we research the entire marketplace,
not a short list, not twenty percent of the market.
(36:09):
We research one hundred percent of the market, and we
identify our top providers. And then the next step is
we go out and we take a tour with you,
and we're there to see everything that we need to see.
Meet some people, talk with some folks, and then I
ask a lot of questions on behalf of my clients.
And I'm a former nursing home and assistant living administrator
(36:34):
and executive director, so I think I look at this
differently than most folks. I'm less interested in the bling
of the place right and the marble and the fountains
and that, trust me, all that's very very nice. I'm
a lot more interested in substantial questions that would reflect
what we could expect when receiving care from them. So
(36:56):
I ask a lot of questions that frankly, most of
my clients would never even know to ask. Again, I
have I have on my administrator glasses on behalf of
you and your family. Ask a lot of questions. And
this isn't some interrogation. They're just really good questions and
they're received very well in the marketplace. And they're like, yeah, Steve,
that that's a really good question. You're lucky to have
(37:16):
him walking alongside you through this because he's asking really
good questions that most people just don't and so and
I get that compliment all the time, and that's I
really appreciate that. But we go in, we see everything
we need to see, we talk with some folks, got
a lot of information. We're in and out of each
(37:36):
place very very quickly. We're usually done by about one o'clock,
maybe even a little bit sooner. So the secondary benefit
is the time savings. Let me put in perspective, the
average family, if they're trying to do their homework, they're
trying to.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Get it right.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
They're spending fifty to one hundred hours running around looking
at all this stuff and online and all the stuff. Right,
my clients are done in about four hours. Boom they're done.
So it's a huge time saver. But the primary benefit
is the output of the entire process. I create a
report that has all the information, all the questions asked,
(38:13):
information discovered. I calculate exact staffing ratios. I report to
you with the state found in its most recent surprise
health inspection. So now you have a wealth of information
on the top places meeting your exact needs. You can
make an informed decision and move forward with confidence. That
is what it's all about. So if you need help
(38:34):
with that, give us a call at Senior Care Consulting
nine one three, nine four five twenty eight hundred. You
can reach out through the website Seniorcare Consulting dot com.
We can help you. We would be honored to help
you make one of the most important decisions of your
entire lifetime. That's what we do every single day. It's
(38:56):
deeply personal to us. So if you think like me
and you're like, wait a minute, that sounds really good,
maybe I'd like to offer that service in my market. Well,
first of all, you'll stick out like a sore thumb
in a really good way because you're not another free
referral service. You're not like I say, you're not another
(39:19):
run of the mill free referral service. Trust me. Elder
law to state planning attorneys. They will love that. There's
no conflict of interest or vested interest here. Financial advisors
who are who have a fiduciary approach, fiduciary model, they
will totally get this. They doctors, hospitals, home health providers,
(39:41):
home care providers, hospice providers, could go on and on
and on and on and on. Everyone loves this approach.
I call it a placement service with integrity. So if
you work in the business of senior care, or maybe
you have a lot of caregiving experience, and you just
get it. And if you're interested in owning your own business,
(40:05):
in doing the business the right way, offering a placement
service with integrity, you need to give me a call.
We needed to talk because Senior Care Consulting is now
expanding through the franchise model, so I'll be awarding franchises
in most of the states, not all of the states.
Give me a call if you have a question. We're
(40:25):
in most of the states. Okay, here's the phone number
eight three three scc FRAN. Sorry're like Steve, I'm I'm
not what are the numbers?
Speaker 3 (40:39):
Don't do that to me.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
I kind of like it. Scc fran eight three three
seven two two three seven two six. If you don't
want to make it even easier, just go to Senior
Care Consulting dot com. Hit the franchise tab and there's
an inquiryform. You can send us an email throughout the form,
give us a call, let's talk about that. Also, here
(41:01):
we are, it's Mother's Day weekend. Don't forget our friends
at Grandpad they're offering and so they're offering it, you know,
the Saturday and Sunday of Mother's Day weekend, and that's
it's going to expire after Mother's Day. They're offering two
hundred and fifty dollars off. That's a thirty two percent
discount for Grandpad. We talked last week with Scott Lean
(41:22):
what a well, have a phenomenal product. It's their biggest
savings ever. Just visit grandpad dot net. You can call
them at one eight hundred and seven oh four nine
four one two. I would check that out. It's fantastic
And last but not least, here we are and Mother's
Day weekend. To my wonderful mom. She is my biggest cheerleader.
(41:45):
She has been my entire life. Thanks Mom, and Happy
Mother's Day weekend to you, and thanks to my incredible wife, Susan.
I have no idea how I got so lucky. I
have no idea what I would do without you. Happy
Mother's Day, Susan, and Happy Mother's Day to all of
(42:06):
the great moms out there. I hope you have just
a lovely weekend. I hope you are treated like a queen.
I hope you are reminded on Mother's Day just how
special and how loved you are. Happy Mother's Day everyone,
(42:26):
all right. I'm Steve Keeker, and I wish you grace
and peace. May God bless you and your family on
this day and always join me next week right here
on Senior Care Live.
Speaker 5 (42:52):
Does your business serve the elderly and their caregivers in
our area? There are hundreds of thousands of people either
receiving or providing senior care and they need to know
about you. A unique and successful radio program called Senior
Care Live is the perfect opportunity to let your target
audience know about your amazing products and services. Senior Care
(43:13):
Live is currently adding a limited number of partner sponsors
and if you're aligned with their mission, they want to
talk to you. They're interested in partnering with hospital organizations,
physician groups, home care providers, a state planning and older
law practices, financial advisors, insurance companies, real estate brokers, home
health agencies, and other providers serving the elderly and their caregivers.
(43:36):
Senior Care Live has a limited number of partner sponsor opportunities,
so call now at nine one three nine four five
twenty eight hundred nine one three nine four five twenty
eight hundred or visit seniorcare live dot com seniorcare live
dot com.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
Quid pro quo a Latin phrase that means an exchange
of goods or services where one transfer is contingent upon
the Here's an example. I'll recommend your senior care community
if you'll pay me a huge kickback from my referral.
The free referral services have a vested interest in you
choosing one of their business partners. That's how they make
(44:14):
their money. Does this paid recommendation sound objective or credible?
Of course not. I'm Steve Keeker with Senior Care Consulting.
I'm so proud to say we have never received a
single penny from any provider ever. We offer replacement service
with integrity for help finding the right senior care community,
without conflict of interest and without the quid pro quo
(44:38):
called nine to one three nine four five twenty eight
hundred nine one three nine four five twenty eight hundred
Replacement Service with integrity at Seniorcare Consulting dot com.
Speaker 4 (44:51):
Hi. This is Carrie Hole with an important message about
Medicare benefits. You may be eligiblefore but don't know about it.
They're called Medicare Special Needs programs. If you're a Medicare
recipient or a caregiver, here's what you need to know.
There are three programs you may qualify for. The first
is Medicare C SNIP for people with chronic conditions like asthma,
heart disease, diabetes, and more. The second is Medicare D SNIP.
(45:14):
If you are currently on a Medicaid plan, you may
qualify for this dual eligible plan while keeping your full
Medicaid benefits. The third plan is Medicare I SNIP. If
you're in an institution like a nursing home or at home,
but require an equivalent level of care, you may qualify
for this plan and OURPS benefits by design. They're certified
Medicare specialists that can walk you through these programs and
(45:36):
help you qualify. Joyce Thompson and Carol Lee Steele Call
Today eight seven seven three eight five twenty two twenty four.
That's eight seven seven three eight five, twenty two twenty four.
Once again eight seven seven three eight five twenty two
twenty four
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