We conducted a survey of our readers, asking some questions on the skilled nursing M&A market. Most of the results will be featured in the June issue of The SeniorCare Investor, released later this week, but here are a couple of takeaways from it. First, we asked whether the threat of the minimum staffing mandate (as it currently stands) would impact buyer demand for SNFs. The majority, or 72%, said “somewhat” while 21% said “not at all.” Only 7% thought that there would be a significant impact. Posing the same question, but how lenders’ ability to lend for SNFs would be impacted, also saw the majority, or 64%, of respondents say “somewhat” and 14% believed it would have no impact. More believed there would be a significant impact, or 22%.
Based on conversations we’ve had, we haven’t heard the staffing mandate come up as a reason to not buy or to not lend, not at all. And it’s hard for people in the industry to take serious something that was derived so unseriously, meaning CMS’ minimum staffing ratio that was rushed through, not backed by evidence as improving quality of care and even forgetting about LPNs in the initial release of the rule. Luckily, the well-founded and strategic lawsuit filed by AHCA against the regulation (and the agency’s statutory authority to implement it) could prove to be the death knell to the rule, if the presidential election is not.
