Medicaid: HCBS and Eligibility Updates

I follow Medicaid but don’t often get many inquiries around Medicaid policy or requests for articles in this subject area. Medicaid, however, is very important for providers, especially post-acute and senior living, as it is typically, a significant if not majority payer. During COVID and the public health emergency, Medicaid policy and CMS enacted requirements … Read more

Wednesday Feature: Recession Ahead?

Happy Hump Day! Advent has begun and soon, Chanukah will kick-off. ‘Tis the season or seasons. I will no doubt say this (or write it) many times over, but it always bears repeating, Happy Holidays to all! Yesterday, I wrote a post about Fitch Rating’s and their outlook for CCRCs/Life Plan communities for 2024. Fitch maintained … Read more

Twofer Tuesday: Life Plan/CCRCs, Fitch Outlook (2024) and Rate Concession Report

Long title for a Tuesday. Two reports dropped within the last couple of days and into my email regarding CCRCs/ Life Plan communities and some interesting trends/outlooks. Yesterday (Dec 4), Fitch issued its 2024 outlook for Life Plan/CCRCs, reaffirming its 2023 outlook as “deteriorating”. The primary reason for the gloomy outlook is present and projected, … Read more

Senior Living/CCRC Risk Reduction and the Fair Housing Act

On Friday, I wrote about expanding litigation due to increasing resident care needs found in senior living, assisted and independent living. Specifically, the issue is primarily around “acuity creep” or residents aging in-place, in environments that may not have the staff and infrastructure to meet their advancing care needs. Friday’s post is here: https://rhislop3.com/2023/12/01/friday-feature-senior-living-litigation-watch-risks-at-ccrcs-independent-living/ I’ve … Read more

Friday Feature: Senior Living Litigation Watch: Risks at CCRCs/Independent Living

Among the many topical areas I watch in health care, I pay particular attention to liability and litigation. As frequent readers/followers know, my firm, H2 Healthcare, LLC, focuses a practice area on clinical compliance and litigation support. My wife and the firm’s Senior Partner is one of the foremost experts (nationally) in litigation support and … Read more

Value-Based Care: What it is and How it Can Work for Post-Acute Providers

I get asked about value-based care a lot. It is a buzzword or term these days, somewhat driven by the rise in Medicare Advantage enrollment. Frankly, it is a bit of a catch-all concept that has its origins in Medicare and various demonstration projects (e.g., bundled payments) and the implementation of quality measures to “improve … Read more

Friday Feature: Senior Living Credit/Borrowing Still, Very Soft

TGIF! This week has been very busy with lots of data and lots of economic news. We got a new report from the BLS on inflation. We got earnings reports from Home Depot, Target, and yesterday, Wal Mart indicating what we saw from the Conference Board – consumers are slowing their spending.  I called the … Read more

Non-Profit Ownership/Sponsorship Changes Moving at Record Pace

While mergers and acquisitions are generally down, affiliations, closings in some cases, and sponsorship changes in non-profit senior living and care are at a record pace. Back in July, I wrote about the disconnect between acquisitions and the merger/affiliation changes occurring among non-profits. That post is here: https://rhislop3.com/2023/07/24/senior-living-and-care-ma-two-worlds/ A news release from Ziegler Investment Banking, … Read more

Wednesday Feature: CPI, Economy, 40 Days to Christmas

OK, the title is kind of funky, but these concepts do connect. Yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Consumer Price Index (inflation report) for October, 2023. Good news? Maybe. A mixed bag? Definitely. Headlines win the day, and politically spun, it’s fascinating to see which numbers resonate. The full report/release is here: cpi … Read more

Wednesday Feature: A Bit of Economic Nostalgia

Happy Hump Day! I was going back through some historic stuff and I landed in 2010. The year 2010 was, after further review, eerily similar to right now, economically speaking. Sadly, not much has changed in terms of health policy and the economic state of healthcare. In 2010, the economy was choppy, recovering or trying … Read more