Between 2010 and 2012, skilled nursing facilities in 40 states across the nation dealt with Medicaid payment rates that were either cut or frozen, highlighting the importance of stabilizing federal nursing home rates, according to a recent Avalere survey. “These findings speak to the financial pressures nursing facilities face on the Medicaid front,” said Emil Parker, [...]
The Republican primary in Florida brought discussions of healthcare, particularly Medicare, back to the forefront of the national discourse. With its sizeable senior population, Medicare and Social Security were top of mind to Florida voters. It is certainly important that health care, and particularly Medicare, be debated thoroughly during the Presidential campaign, as entitlement reform [...]
In the next decade, the cost of government healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid are expected to more than double, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s economic outlook for fiscal years 2012 to 2022, and if lawmakers don’t substantially restrain the spending, it will result in “unsupportable” federal debt levels. By 2022, federal spending on [...]
The United States needs to create a “new, affordable safety net” of Social Security and Medicare so that future Americans can continue to be protected along with current generations, Governor Mitch Daniels (R-Ind.) said in his rebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. After the president’s speech, Daniels fired back [...]
Tennessee is expanding changes made to its state Medicaid program that allow beneficiaries to receive in-home care rather than moving to nursing care facilities. The program, TennCare, currently serves between 8,500 and 11,000 people and the program aims to increase that number to up to 15,000 this year. “Statewide, we have moved from 17% of [...]
The Congressional Budget Office recently examined the effects of raising the eligibility ages for Social Security and Medicare at the same time, since life expectancy has increased and doing so would reduce federal expenditures, but ultimately concluded that lack of evidence prevents it from predicting the “sign or magnitude of the interaction effects if the [...]
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) should make Medicare funding decisions based upon the “significant, documented underfunding of skilled nursing facility patient care by state Medicaid programs,” says the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care. This recommendation was made after a recent study found the nursing home industry is existing on “razor-thin” operating margins due [...]
With the new year upon us, Kaiser Health News has a list of current healthcare-related topics in its lineup that merit close attention in 2012. Medicare and Medicaid will feature largely along with the upcoming presidential elections. One reporter will be looking into state waivers for the Medicaid program, as states such as Florida, Utah, [...]
The US has filed a complaint in a whistleblower suit against AseraCare Hospice, the Department of Justice announced on Jan. 3, alleging that the hospice provider misspent millions of taxpayer dollars intended for Medicare patients who qualify for hospice care through a prognosis of six months or less to live. “When a business admits a [...]
Are Private Equity Firms the Next Big Investor in Senior Housing?
Most will agree that 2011 was the year of the REITs, with healthcare real estate investment trusts going on a $20 billion spending spree, writes the National Real Estate Investor, but in 2012, private equity firms could be the “next big investors in seniors housing.” “Private equity will be active this coming year in seniors [...]
Healthcare M&A Spending Swells 11% in 2011 to $227 Billion
Last year saw $227.4 billion worth of healthcare merger, acquisition, and takeover activity, representing an 11% increase from the $205.6 billion spend in 2010, according to Irving Levin Associates, Inc. In terms of financing dollars, 2011 was the fourth-largest year of the past decade, although the actual number of deals announced in the year decreased [...]
Challenges and Prospects in Repurposing Old Buildings for Assisted Living
When various types of buildings end up vacant and in disuse, sometimes the next logical step is to repurpose them for senior housing, especially as the nation’s senior demographic grows at a rapid pace. Old hospitals, hotels, and schools are probably the three most common types of buildings that can be converted into an assisted [...]
Financing Senior Care Renovation: Less Risky Alternative to New Construction?
New construction starts remain significantly below peak 2007 levels, according to data from the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry, and with financing largely unavailable for ground-up construction, is renovation or rehabilitation of senior care facilities a less-risky alternative for lenders? With nursing homes across the nation an average of nearly four [...]
Recent Senior Housing Finance Activity: Love, Ziegler, KeyBank
Love Funding Secures a $4.6 Million Loan Refinance for Illinois ALF Love Funding announced on Jan. 3 that it closed a $4.6 million refinancing through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 232/223(f) loan program for an assisted living and memory care center located in Milan, Illinois. Avonlea Cottage of Quad Cities is a 46-unit [...]
