Friday Feature: Sr. Living Occupancy Update + (plus)

Yesterday we got a good look at the status of the SNF industry via a data report from CLA. Today, as the week ends, we can look at the broad industry as a whole and where occupancies are trending. NIC (National Investment Center) released its occupancy snapshot for senior living for Quarter 3. That summary … Read more

SNF Industry Update

Every year, the accounting firm of Clifton Larson Allen (CLA) produces an industry trends report based on accumulated cost report data. The report provides a good snapshot of the nursing home industry, nationwide, with insights on regions and states.  The report is available here: 38th-snf-cost-comparison-and-industry-trends-report As I’ve written on numerous posts on this site, the … Read more

Twofer Tuesday: Jimmo and Staffing Mandates

Happy Hump Day eve! There is so much going on right now with the economy, government shutdown (whew, avoided that one for a bit) dynamics, election news, and health policy that it is becoming difficult to parse topics into stuff of value. Hopefully, a couple of quick updates will make room for more insightful analysis … Read more

AZ Pandemic Related Case – Watchlist Important

My firm (shared with my co-founder) H2 Healthcare, LLC does a lot of legal work, primarily forensic and litigation support. My wife (and partner), Diane Hislop, RN, is likely the foremost (or certainly, top few) clinical compliance experts in the country in terms of senior living and post-acute care. This means, as a group, we … Read more

Friday (and Weekend) Feature: A Bit Tardy

Busy week and so, I got a tad behind. Lots of news to run through this weekend from health policy stuff (new MDS next week), to updated numbers on SNF staffing mandates, some new info. on the Jimmo case (ten years ago) and Medicare denials, and some economic data from yesterday and today (mixed bag … Read more

Quality and Quantity of Life for Seniors, in Senior Housing

Since my first years in senior housing and health care, and my work way back when with Alwyn Powell (AV Powell, AV Powell and Associates), I have been fascinated by the aging journey in care settings – lengths of stay, health care utilization, quality of life and quantity of life. I’ve supported numerous research studies … Read more

Friday Feature: Where Inflation Came from and Why

The Federal Reserve hasn’t always conducted FOMC meetings (Federal Open Market Committee). It started meeting in late 1973 or early 1974. The purpose of the meeting was to address inflation primarily, in the economy; ways to control it, ways to stabilize monetary policy, ways to create price stability. In the mid 1970s, the Fed began … Read more

Fitch, Life Plan (CCRCs) and the Economy: Could Get Uglier

On Monday, Fitch (investment rating agency) dropped a non-rating commentary as an alert that should the economy hit a recession (I would argue not “should” but “when”), that Life Plan communities will encounter additional financial pressure. Recall that in December 2022, Fitch issued its outlook on the Life Plan/CCRC market, qualifying it as “deteriorating.” Per … Read more

Senior Housing Occupancy Update

During the pandemic, senior housing (all forms) saw a drop, some precipitous like SNFs, in occupancy. As the pandemic has now waned, the recovery continues. This is good news for the sector, but occupancy is not the only factor impacting recovery. According to the National Investment Center (NIC), occupancy in the sector varies between market … Read more

Political Issue: Medicare Solvency

With election season heating-up, I’m going to drop some posts in from time to time on health policy issues that candidates SHOULD be talking about – not that they will. The issues I will put forth are the biggies, not the trivial stuff that campaigns and parties use as talking points (e.g., improving Obama Care, … Read more