


Is Home Care The Answer?
The move toward more home health is upon us, and it is time for providers to engage. If President Biden’s $2.1 trillion “stimulus” bill goes through, you all have heard about that $400 billion for home and community-based services. Not $400 million, but billion. When nearly 20% of a so-called stimulus package is going towards home and community-based care, well, forgive me for getting nervous. It is the progressive political/academic/union complex trying to make a major change in care for the elderly, but with borrowed federal funds. We know that Medicaid doesn’t work well for most nursing homes, and that most assisted living providers want to remain private pay. That means there is... Read More »
Senior Care Centers/Abri Health Go Chapter 11
On April 16, both Senior Care Centers and Abri Health Services filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This is the second time in a little more than two years that Senior Care has filed for BK. In March 2020, Senior Care debtors emerged from bankruptcy (great timing), and as part of the reorganization, Abri Health was formed as the parent company of the Senior Care debtors and became a co-tenant and co-obligor with Senior Care under LTC Properties’ master lease. The master lease includes 11 skilled nursing facilities in Texas with approximately 1,400 beds. LTC’s annualized revenue from the leases is about $15.0 million, representing 9.6% of LTC’s... Read More »
Promising Census Signs From National Health Investors Update
We are still waiting for that first sign that the seniors housing and care recovery has truly begun. There were some encouraging signs from Welltower’s SHOP portfolio when its census started to rise in the later weeks of March. But so far, that is it. Earlier this month, NIC reported that average occupancy at seniors housing communities fell to a new record low in the first quarter, to 78.8% from 80.6% in the fourth quarter. National Health Investors also recently provided an update regarding its average occupancy and monthly contractual cash collections. Even though the REIT did not report an increase in census at its three major seniors housing operators, the decline has slowed... Read More »
Welltower Census Bottoming Out
Usually, a few weeks does not translate into a long-term trend, but for Welltower’s SHOP portfolio, it may just be the case. And it is one we have all been waiting for since it is the largest portfolio in the senior living sector to make some forecasts from. After plummeting by approximately 1,200 basis points since February 2020, average occupancy has seemed to have bottomed out in March 2021 at 73.7%. The monthly declines in occupancy in the first quarter were already slowing, with March being the best of the pandemic era with just a 10-basis point drop. But for the weeks ended March 12 and March 19, it rested at 73.7%, before rising 20 basis points the next week and 10 the week after... Read More »