Are Senior Placement(Referral) Agencies Free?   Many elderly placement agencies promote themselves as a free service to seniors. But, unless they are truly a non-profit organization, there is no free lunch. You have to understand how referral agencies work, so you can better protect yourself.  A placement counselor or referral agent is paid a commission from the facility owner that ultimately admits your family member into their facility. Even if the senior is not charged a fee up front, the facility owner does pay a fee to the placement agency( most of the time 75%-100% of the one month rent amount) to have you move into their facility. Now you must be thinking..... So what is wrong with that?. It is wrong and you must consider the following: The referral agency refers only to facilities that have signed referral fee contracts with them, so you are not receiving a complete list of options meeting your needs. Some of the referral agencies do not even come to assess you loved one so they can make an appropriate placement. They don't talk to you too much either and they just have a few facilities give you a call, and let the facility and you do the work. Many placement counselors have never been in some of the facilities that they recommend or never met their owners or administrators, but then they will assure you that it is the best place for your loved one. The agent might refer you to a community that charges a higher rate than others, which helps maximize their commission and the facility is happy to receive a higher rate. Or, the placement agent, knowing already your available finances and what you can pay per month, will instruct the facility to ask for the maximum that you can pay per month. You will be better off by searching on the internet for facilities on your own. There are many senior guides online that have all type of retirement homes listed in their directory. Call the facilities, ask all the questions, find out cost, and schedule a tour. The facilities will give you a lower price if they don't need to pay the placement agency fee.