Compliance: Develop a Culture of Disclosure

Developing a culture of transparency that promotes and sustains disclosure (speaking up) can yield advantages beyond merely decreasing misconduct. When employees feel empowered to speak up, they are more inclined to report issues related to safety, care, and to contribute service improvement suggestions, among other things. My firm, H2 Healthcare, has a robust compliance practice. … Read more

Kamala Harris “Likely” Health Policy

Now that it appears Kamala Harris will be the Democrat Presidential candidate, a look at her stance on various issues healthcare aka, her health policy, is timely.  Important to note at his juncture, however, is that candidate Harris has not taken clear stakes on many current healthcare issues as Vice President, her roles were more … Read more

Management Can Prevent Turnover

According to a recent Gallup study, 42% of employees who left their jobs believe management could have prevented their departure. The study also found that as of May, over half of U.S. workers, 51%, are actively looking for new employment opportunities. Gallup highlighted the substantial cost of employee turnover, noting that the expense of replacing … Read more

Senior Housing and Care M&A at Record Level

Mergers and acquisitions activity in the seniors housing and care sector set a new quarterly record with 183 publicly announced transactions in the second quarter of 2024, as reported by LevinPro LTC. This represents a 21% increase over the 151 transactions from the first quarter of 2024, and a 49% rise compared to the 123 … Read more

Altarum Report: Healthcare Spending Accelerates Between May 23 and May 24

From May 2023 to May 2024, the overall healthcare costs accelerated (increased) by 3.4%, marking the most rapid increase since December 2007, as reported in Altarum’s monthly Health Sector Economic Indicators brief, released yesterday. The report is available here: Altarum-June-2024-HSEI-Combined Expenditures on nursing home care increased by 4.8% year-over-year, while home healthcare spending saw a … Read more

Wednesday Feature: Fitch Reinforces Deteriorating Outlook for CCRCs

Happy Hump Day! Yesterday, I wrote a post regarding the economy and elements that correlate to CCRC performance. In that post, I referenced Fitch Ratings and their “deteriorating” outlook for the sector. Interesting enough, on the same day, Fitch issued a comment that reinforces a deteriorating outlook for CCRCs.  The quick comment from Fitch is … Read more

The Economy and CCRC Performance – Update

Recently (June 12), the Federal Reserve held its latest FOMC (Federal Open Markets Committee) meeting and decided to maintain the current Fed Funds rate within the range of 5.25% to 5.50%.  The reasoning remains the current position of the economy, inflation therein, signals that inflation is a bit more persistent, and that without more definitive … Read more

The Ensign Group Inc. Case Study: Nursing Home Chains Analysis

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, nursing homes across the United States faced daunting challenges. One such example is The Ensign Group Inc., the second largest for-profit chain in the country. A descriptive case study delves into the financial and quality metrics of this publicly traded U.S. nursing home chain during the age of … Read more

Private Equity Investment in Nursing Home Sector Generates Regulatory Scrutiny

Private equity investment in the nursing home and assisted living sector (other post-acute as well) continues to be a focus of regulatory activity in Congress.  This is despite private equity investment in the nursing home sector to be involve about 5% of facilities. Home health has seen an increasing investment interest as well from private … Read more

Senior Living Rate Increases are Slowing: Revenue Diversification Offers Opportunities

As inflation has cooled, senior living rate increases are slowing. Growing occupancy has been a function of incentives, particularly rate concessions and discounts.  The greatest use of discounting is in independent living, particularly Life Plan organizations/CCRCs. And, while rate increases shift lower, revenue does as well.  Unfortunately, operating cost increases are not subsiding, especially with … Read more