Private Evening in NYC

Private Evening in NYC

Members of the American Seniors Housing Association and subscribers to The SeniorCare Investor gathered in New York City on the night of the Rockefeller Center tree lighting in an intimate setting at The Penn Club to hear what Rick Atlas (Atria Senior Living), David Reis (Senior Care Development) and Scott Stewart (Capitol Senior Housing) had to say about investing in seniors housing today. While all three were very bullish on the future of the seniors housing business and long-term investment values, there were certainly differences of opinion as to where they see strength. For example, David Reis stated that not only is the CCRC model alive and well, but several of his CCRCs are... Read More »
Senior Housing Innovation Coming Your Way

Senior Housing Innovation Coming Your Way

As the boomers age, and look at alternatives for housing, many seem to be popping up. There has been a lot of noise in the media about the hot new living arrangements for the elderly, or more specifically, the boomers who are soon to be the elderly. Whether it is co-living arrangements in urban environments or Bill (Green House) Thomas’ new idea called a Minka tiny house, which is about 325 to 400 square feet and is modular, or the new active adult communities being developed as 100 to 200-unit apartment buildings for the pre-retirement housing crowd, all these concepts may be giving senior living providers the jitters. They shouldn’t. As far as I can tell, these are all targeting a... Read More »
National Healthcare Corporation Holding Its Own

National Healthcare Corporation Holding Its Own

With all the media attention on financial problems within the skilled nursing sector (and we are guilty of this as well), there are some companies which are doing okay in this environment. One is National HealthCare Corporation, a publicly traded company that keeps very quiet but, with a market cap of $989 million, is one of the largest public senior care companies. For the three months ended September 30, 2017, its average Medicare rate has increased by $6.00 to $459.63 year over year, while its Medicare patient days increased marginally. Meanwhile, it managed care average daily rate (which we assume to be mostly Medicare Advantage) remained flat while the total managed care patient days... Read More »
Senior Housing Innovation Coming Your Way

AARP and Safe Nursing Homes

AARP, not usually a friend of the skilled nursing sector, thinks that nurses on duty 24/7 will solve the quality of care problems. In case you are not a member of AARP, like I am, the cover story in their November Bulletin was called, “How Safe Are Our Nursing Homes?” The story did an overview of the skilled nursing industry, including some of the recent rule changes. But it highlighted what didn’t change, such as not addressing the need for staffing increases. The article blamed staffing, or the shortage of staffing, for most of the woes confronting the skilled nursing sector. The solution? Mandate having at least one nurse on staff 27/7. Great idea, but 1) where are you going to find... Read More »
Quality Care Properties and HCR ManorCare One Step Closer

Quality Care Properties and HCR ManorCare One Step Closer

While the financial deterioration of HCR ManorCare continues, at least there was some good news in the past few weeks that may result in an agreement between it and its landlord, Quality Care Properties. Apparently, the DOJ has filed a notice to dismiss its case against HCRMC which was filed in April 2015 relating to alleged false claims for Medicare reimbursement. The consensus had been that HCRMC should just settle because the legal costs were high and it is often very hard to win against the government. But the ManorCare half of the company was well known back in the early 2000s for rarely settling liability claims from the drive-by trial attorneys, especially in Florida, so many of... Read More »
Legacy Tenant Capital Structures Create REIT Turmoil

Legacy Tenant Capital Structures Create REIT Turmoil

It all started when HCP, Inc. completed a series of rent negotiations with HCR ManorCare, but to no avail. It just wasn’t enough for a long-term solution, and they ended up spinning the HCRMC portfolio into a new entity (Quality Care Properties) that was supposed to be a REIT but may end up not being one depending on the final solution. Even after those lowered rents, HCRMC defaulted on some payments to QCP, and it got messier after that. As everyone now knows, that was the tip of the iceberg. Practically every major REIT has reported “issues” with tenants, ranging from covenants broken, inability to make rent payments, and high likelihood of not being able to make rent payments in the... Read More »