It’s Friday afternoon, which means it’s time for a quick look back at the biggest skilled nursing headlines of the past week, and a peek into what could be on the horizon in the coming days.
Skilled Nursing News brought you extensive coverage from the Post Acute Link Care Continuum Conference in our hometown of Chicago, including a panel discussion in which a Washington insider gave a Senate Obamacare repeal bill a better-than-even shot at passage before the July 4 holiday, the secrets of Symphony’s “Super SNF” model, and a bleak outlook for occupancy numbers in a SNF industry that’s “under siege.”
Tick, Tock
Quality Care Properties, Inc. (NYSE: QCP) gave a tentative deadline of June 15 to potential investors in its bid to take over HCR ManorCare, its embattled skilled nursing tenant. That day came and went without an official announcement, and the July 5 expiration of the forbearance agreement between the two parties is close on the horizon. This week began with signals from the Carlyle Group, the private equity firm that has owned ManorCare for more than a decade, that it was ready to walk away from the embattled Toledo, Ohio-based skilled nursing provider, with QCP poised for an equity takeover. A source close to the negotiations would only confirm to SNN that no facility closures were expected as part of any deal — contrary to a New York Post report from this past weekend — and that all three parties were attempting to avoid bankruptcy proceedings. The move would strip the Bethesda, Md.-based QCP of its real estate investment trust (REIT) status.
What We’re Reading
Over at Slate, Norbert Goldfield — a medical doctor and director of clinical and economic research for 3M Health Information Systems — makes the case for cutting Medicaid spending by improving outcomes and eliminating waste, and not through the American Health Care Act’s proposed reduction of recipients. He points to various state programs, championed by governors of both political parties, that have helped combat factors that lead to higher care costs: Texas and Minnesota, for instance, have made concerted efforts to reduce hospital readmissions, resulting in tens of millions in Medicaid savings, while Maryland sought to cut hospital complications — and succeeded in saving $110 million.
Written by Alex Spanko
Companies featured in this article:
3M Health Information Systems, American Health Care Act, HCR ManorCare, QCP, Symphony Post Acute Network
