Nine in Ten Medicare Beneficiaries Prefer Home Health to SNFs

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Roughly 94% of Medicare beneficiaries want to receive post-acute care in the home rather than a skilled nursing facility, according to results of a Morning Consult poll. The poll was conducted on behalf of the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH), along with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). That’s more than nine in 10 beneficiaries, with only 3% opting for a nursing home for post-hospital, short-term health care. The poll found 85% believe Medicare expansion for at-home health care should be a “high priority,” in order to accomodate a shift in public preference.

CMS Strives to Separate PDPM Impact from Pandemic, Cites Metrics Changes

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made headway separating metrics changes in the past year-and-a-half, tying some to the pandemic and others to implementation of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM). John Kane, technical advisor and SNF payment team lead for CMS, helped the skilled nursing industry better understand the impacts of PDPM during a presentation at the SimpleLTC 2021 Virtual Symposium Wednesday. Therapy minutes, depression coding, stays with infection isolation and long-term care nursing home stays were the four major metrics Kane discussed during the presentation, attributing the first two to PDPM implementation and the last two to the pandemic.

Value-Based Medicare Advantage Payment Plans ‘Only Going to Increase’ in Nursing Home Industry

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There’s a strong possibility that Medicare will move to mandate value-based payment models (VBP) for the nursing home industry in the years to come, according to industry executives. Dr. René Lerer and Brian Cloch, CEOs for Longevity Health Plan and Transitional Care Management, respectively, spoke at a panel on the future of VBP models during Skilled Nursing News’ RETHINK event last week. Lerer pointed to his time at Florida Blue as a precursor to his thoughts on broader usage of VBP models.

Nursing Home Executives Increasingly View Home Health Care as Strategic Complement for Lower-Acuity Patients

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The largest nursing home advocacy organization in the nation cried foul following the July introduction of the Choose Home Care Act of 2021, a piece of legislation designed to shift more care into the home. The group’s quick criticism of Choose Home only added to the “nursing homes versus home health” narrative that has repeatedly been brought up during the COVID-19 pandemic. But while home health agencies are often depicted as enemies of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and other institutional settings, they’re really more like post-acute care allies, industry leaders say.

Diversicare to Be Acquired by DAC Acquisition LLC for $10.10 per Share in Cash

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Diversicare Healthcare Services, Inc. (the “Company”) (OTCQX: DVCR), a premier provider of long-term care services, today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with DAC Acquisition LLC, under which DAC Acquisition LLC will acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Diversicare for $10.10 per share in cash. Diversicare provides long-term care services to patients in 61 nursing centers and 7,250 skilled nursing beds.

Assisted 4 Living, Inc. Acquires Trillium Healthcare Group’s Assets

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Assisted for Living Inc. (OTC: ASSF) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Trillium Healthcare Group’s assets. Trillium Healthcare is a post-acute healthcare company which has offered operational insight into the skilled nursing and senior living communities for over 10 years. Trillium currently leases and operates 26 facilities in four states: Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and Nebraska with 1,685 total licensed beds (1,546 skilled nursing, 139 assisted living) and 36 independent living apartments. Trillium 2020 revenues were approximately $100 million.

ACO Participation May Keep SNFs ‘In the Game’

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Although accountable care organizations (ACOs) have never been particularly popular among skilled nursing facilities, timing may be ripe to take on more risk to stay competitive in the market. ACO participation may help operators maintain referrals when so many potential residents are being diverted to home health care, hospice and other tracks along the continuum of care.

The Ensign Group Adds Two Skilled Nursing Facilities in Texas

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The Ensign Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENSG), the parent company of the Ensign™ group of companies, which invest in and provide skilled nursing and senior living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies and other rehabilitative and healthcare services, announced today that, effective August 1, 2021, it acquired the operations of the following skilled nursing facilities in Texas: Sedona Trace Health and Wellness Center, a 119-bed skilled nursing facility located in Austin, TX; and Cedar Pointe Health and Wellness Center, a 122-bed skilled nursing facility located in Cedar Park, TX.

Aria Care Partners Expands Skilled Nursing Facility Services with Two Strategic Acquisitions

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Aria Care Partners, the leading provider of integrated ancillary medical services for skilled nursing facilities, announced Tuesday that it has acquired Outreach Eye Care and SeniorWell. Aria Care Partners collaborated with HealthDrive, a Bain Capital Double Impact portfolio company, on the acquisition of SeniorWell. Since 1978, Outreach Eye Care has provided exceptional onsite vision care to residents in healthcare facilities throughout Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. SeniorWell facilitates onsite healthcare in senior living communities across four modalities: audiology, dentistry, optometry and podiatry. Aria Care Partners collaborated with HealthDrive, a longtime partner, on this first of its kind strategic acquisition.

Big REIT Deals Helped Push Senior Living M&A Activity 31% Higher in Q2

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Sizable transactions from real estate investment trusts (REITs) helped propel senior housing and care merger and acquisition activity higher in the second quarter of 2021 than the first quarter. The number of publicly announced senior housing and care acquisitions in the second quarter of 2021 rose to 109 deals, representing a 31% gain from the 83 deals made public in the first quarter of 2021 and a 79% gain over the second quarter of 2020, according to new data from Irving Levin Associates.