60 Seconds with Swett: REITs and the Post-Pandemic M&A Strategy
Coming out of the pandemic, the senior care REITs have had their difficulties dealing with low occupancy, operator/tenant problems and staffing shortages, like most in the industry. Rent collection rates and lease coverages have been less than ideal in more than a few cases, a couple of high-profile disputes played out, and REITs even were the target (albeit misguided) of the Biden Administration’s critique of the skilled nursing industry. However, after the major balance sheet decisions they made early in the pandemic and some strategic divestments, many REITs are still poised to grow on a massive scale, if the right deals come along. What properties are they targeting, and... Read More »
60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Uncontrolled Spread: Why Covid-19 Crushed Us
If there is one book you should read to really understand what happened with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s excellent book on this topic, called Uncontrolled Spread. I just finished it, and while dense in some parts on the scientific aspects, it does a lot to explain, and expose, why so much went wrong in our healthcare system, and why nursing homes should not necessarily get the blame that has been heaped on them. This is important because the lawsuits are starting to pile up, and the blame game is going to get intense, with the federal government not helping matters. The reality is that no on really knew anything about this new coronavirus,... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: Can SNFs Survive the Medicare Cut?
The dreaded day has come. On April 11th, CMS issued a proposed rule to update its Medicare payment policies and rates which would lower Medicare Part A payments to SNFs by approximately $320 million in FY 2023 compared with FY 2022. This is all the result of CMS’ October 1, 2019 rule change called the Patient Driven Payment Model, or PDPM. In a nutshell, the case mix classification model was supposed to more accurately compensate SNFs for the high-acuity, medically complex patients they already cared for. However, it was also supposed to be budget neutral, which it was not. CMS estimated there was an unintended increase in payments of about 5%, or $1.7 billion in FY 2020. The... Read More »
NHI and Welltower Enter Settlement Agreement
Well, it’s finally done. Welltower and National Health Investors entered into a settlement agreement over the unpaid rent from 17 legacy Holiday Retirement properties that Welltower had not made contractual rental payments on since its August 2021 takeover of the portfolio. It is still baffling why the issue ever arose, especially since Welltower had contractual obligations to the landlord, NHI. But we are glad they can put this matter behind them, although we will see how much the two parties will work with each other going forward. Regardless, NHI held firm, was in the right, and won. The settlement agreement included a payment of $6.9 million, which is expected to be recognized in the... Read More »