Friday Feature: Home Health Proposed Rule Implications

Last month, CMS dropped the 2024 PPS Proposed Rule for Home Health. Like all other provider segments, Proposed Rules function to address primarily payment, then other programmatic issues/rules such as quality measures, data reporting, etc. The proposals generally mirror the final rules, but tweaks do occur. The payment end, however, rarely changes much as often, … Read more

Real Estate Sales Report Out – Dismal News for Seniors and Senior Housing

The June existing home sales report from the National Association of Realtors paints a depressing picture of the residential real estate market. The release is here: https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/existing-home-sales-retreated-3-3-in-june-monthly-median-sales-price-reached-second-highest-amount Home sales down 3.3 percent Sales off 18.9% from a year ago Inventory available for sale didn’t change – 2.8 months (seasonally adjusted) Median prices rose again to … Read more

Friday Feature: The Good Acquisition

Organizational expansion is truly a tale of two options (primarily): add capacity organically (build or start from scratch) or acquire an existing business. Both have pluses and minuses, but when it comes to scale on a more rapid basis and movement into a new market area, acquisition tends to make more sense versus an organic … Read more

Fitch, Life Plan Communities, Mid-Year Update

In December of 2022, Fitch (credit rating agency) issued their outlook for the non-profit, Life Plan (CCRC) sector within the senior housing industry. Fitch outlooks are a primer for creditors seeking to determine lending scales for the upcoming year (bullish v. bearish). The Fitch outlook for the sector was “deteriorating”. The basis for this negative … Read more

Friday Feature: Affordability is an Issue

One of the largest complaints about senior care and housing is cost. It is or can be, darn expensive. The best, most amenitized Life Plan projects can run hundreds of thousands of dollars to enter and tens of thousands more in monthly fees. Rates inflate typically, more than CPI each year. Lately, rate inflation has … Read more

Friday Feature: What Baby Boomers Want

Soon the target customer for most senior housing options, primarily independent living and CCRC/Life Plan will be folks born in the “baby boomer” generation. Boomers are folk born between 1946 and 1964, placing them today, between 76/77 and 58/59 years of age. They were born right after WW II and right at the beginning of … Read more

Health Care Sector Econ Data Points

In its latest update, the Altarum Health Sector Economic Indicators, provided some interesting information on health care spending, job growth, and pricing. The data was released yesterday and is accessible here: https://altarum.org/publications/june-2023-health-sector-economic-indicators-briefs Some key data points from the report are as follows. The data is useful in forecasting, budgeting, and planning, especially in terms of … Read more

Mid-Year Update: The Economy and Capital Markets

Just a tick early as mid-year officially won’t occur until this Saturday with the second quarter officially ending, Friday. This said, not much is likely to change the current status between now and Friday or for that matter, any time soon. The first half of 2023 can be summed up through a look at two … Read more

Owner’s Rep – What It Is, When and How to Use One

Healthcare has a great deal of complexity in terms of care delivery and clinical needs. Today, and going forward, equal complexity exists on the business and operations front. Large provider organizations and systems are likely to have the capacity and capability to acquire and internalize, expertise within the organizational structure. Smaller, single site or regional … Read more

Merge/Affiliation Strategy Update – Checklist

A recent federal funds rate cut by the Federal Reserve of 50 bps has created a bit of optimism in the M&A and capital development arena for senior living and senior housing. The expectation of more Fed rate cuts going forward undergirds the optimism BUT…Overall economic conditions remain sketchy including inflation which, ticked a notch higher … Read more