By Susan Saldibar
Here’s something you may not know that is probably impacting your occupancy.
There are some amazing people right now who …
- Want to move into your community but think they can’t afford to
- Are planning to move out of your community soon because they can’t afford to stay
And these are some of the most outstanding, heroic people alive today. Who are they?
They’re our veterans and their surviving spouses.
And here’s what really ticks me off (and should you as well):
They are not getting the advanced pensions they deserve and the money to afford your community.
Sometimes it’s just too complicated. Or they may not even know they qualify for a benefit like Aid and Attendance, which could cover some care.
Suzette Graham, founder and CEO of Patriot Angels (a Foresight partner), is helping vets and their surviving spouses get qualified for monthly income that could help them move into your senior living community.
Move over, Harry and Meghan. Suzette deserves a Netflix series.
Suzette chatted recently with Steve Moran on Foresight TV. Watch the video, and you tell me if you don’t agree Suzette’s journey deserves the Netflix documentary treatment.
In a nutshell …
Suzette grew up in Alaska with a passion to serve, and boy, has she served! Her advocacy work has taken many forms, from feeding the hungry in Alaska to working with foster care, helping foster kids relocate to forever homes, to helping homeowners avoid foreclosures.
Then it was on to working for an organization that helped vets with finances. But all they were doing was creating annuities for them. What the vets needed was their hard-earned pensions and other benefits!
Time to start a business that got veterans what they need. And deserve.
So Suzette set up shop in her home and got her five kids involved in making calls. The only problem came when she found herself maxed out financially and facing foreclosure herself.
It was then that a friend stepped in, opened his checkbook, and said, “What do you need to get this going?”
Ten years later, and Patriot Angels is rockin’ the benefits process for vets, helping them transition into senior care.
They have 130 employees and have booked 15,000 approvals. Here’s something really amazing: 11% of all approvals across the country were obtained by Patriot Angels.
Here’s why this should matter to you.
By helping to unlock the money vets deserve, Patriot Angels is helping vets afford gaining all the benefits of living in an assisted living community. Like yours.
Here are some basic facts from Suzette. (I’ve really simplified them, so you have to watch the video to get more details.)
- The average monthly Aid and Attendance benefit for a vet is $2,229. If married, $2,642. For a surviving spouse, $1,432.
- Vets can have residual income and still qualify if their medical expenses create a deficit. The good news is that, in many cases, senior living is considered a medical expense!
- Once Patriot Angels has all the client’s financials and other necessary documents, it takes them about 48 to 72 hours to submit. Average approval time is 97 days.
- A vet can transition into care before getting benefit approval. They’ll have to pay until they are approved. But they can get pay that is retroactive back to the date the application was submitted. Pretty cool.
Seriously, there is a ton more in the video, so I suggest you watch it and take notes!
Patriot Angels has a near perfect success rate. And a single benefit check will cover their one-time charge.
That’s a freaking amazing ROI.
Here’s what veterans get for the one-time payment to Patriot Angels of $1,295: A full assessment. That includes a pre-filing screening to see if they’re eligible. Their legal team will create a report on exactly what the veteran and/or surviving spouse is eligible for. The actual filing costs nothing.
Who on your prospect list is eligible? How many more move-ins could this bring you?
If I were you, I’d be making some calls about now to find out:
- How many vets or surviving spouses fell out of your funnel because they couldn’t come up with the funds
- How many more vets or surviving spouses could you bring into the pipeline if you did a presentation for a VFW or other organization that supports our vets
- How many residents are veterans or surviving spouses — and whether they’re receiving their full benefits
Get in touch with Suzette and her Patriot Angels. They want to help you answer all the questions and get the wheels moving.
Imagine having more veterans in your senior living communities. I can’t think of better people to boost occupancy, can you?
