Long-Term Care Insurance Moratorium?
In a lack of wisdom, North Dakota legislators are considering a bill to ban long-term care insurance policy sales for three years. Just as Medicaid funding is getting stretched and the need for long-term care services will be increasing, North Dakota is apparently considering a bill that would impose a three-year ban on the sale of long-term care insurance policies. Really? The sponsors want to study the market and the history of premium increases. Great, and they have every right to do so, but to ban sales for three years while you “study the market”? Come on, how big is the market in North Dakota? Spend a week. Look, long-term care insurance is not perfect, and there are Cadillac... Read More »
People on the Move
Early last year, we were surprised when Torey Riso told us he was leaving Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors, where he had been serving as President and CEO. He was brought in by the founders to add experience and his contacts to the growing firm. And grow it did. He figured he had done what was needed and it was a good time to leave. And then the pandemic hit, which we are sure altered his post-Blueprint plans. It was just announced that he has joined Huron Consulting Group as a Managing Director specializing in healthcare services, but particularly the senior care market. He has helped small and mid-size operators scale their operations, and in particular will... Read More »
The Vaccine and Census
The COVID-19 vaccine was supposed to solve the census crisis brought on by the virus, but it is not happening fast enough. Optimism still exists, however. A lot has been riding on the success of the vaccine rollout, for everyone personally as well as for the entire senior care industry. But I am worried. When I hear that certain areas are running out of vaccines, when I hear that it may not be as effective with some of the new strains entering our country, when I hear from some providers that up to 50% of their staff have decided not to get vaccinated, well, what does that say about how and when we will recover from this devastating virus? There is some optimism out there, with one... Read More »
Jon Harder Gets Sentence Commuted
When was the last time anyone thought about Jon Harder, the founder and CEO of Sunwest Management who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the “misuse of investment funds during the real estate crisis” of 2007 to 2009? Well, that is an understatement if we ever saw one. At its height, Sunwest was one of the largest senior living companies in the country. Back in the day, in the 2000s, when Mr. Harder was building his empire, overpaying for properties and then not properly managing them, people often wondered, “how is he doing it?” We heard from many brokers that the runner up bids were often 10% to 20% below what Sunwest was offering, not even close enough to ask anyone... Read More »
The Welltower Census Decline
Welltower’s seniors housing partners continue to suffer from census declines and operating costs. We do appreciate the transparency that Welltower has been providing investors, but boy does it provide a window onto what is happening. In its monthly update, Welltower informed us that it suffered its worst monthly census decline since May. December’s SHOP occupancy fell 100 basis points from November, compared with -70 basis points in November and -170 basis points in May. With the pandemic spreading, census dropped another 85 basis points to just 75.3% as of January 15. Not looking forward to everyone’s fourth quarter earnings calls. Move-ins were the lowest in six months, and... Read More »