Dr. Mark Unruh, associate professor of population health sciences, has received an R01 from the National Institute on Aging to advance the science of health-related social needs (HRSN) measurement for older adults.
A new study that examined Housing and Urban Development 232-sponsored loans found them to have slew of benefits for recipients — such as improving providers’ access to capital. But researchers also found that many operators were shut out, including some of those that may need access to funding most.
"The vast majority of quality problems in the U.S. are centered in for-profit nursing homes," said Harvard professor David Grabowski, who told CBS News the ownership structures of for-profits have become more complicated, as investment from private equity firms and real estate companies have poured in.
The federal government wants to know more, and wants consumers to know more, about who owns nursing homes. It is about time. And it may help identify some of the worst actors who pollute the nursing home industry. However, without easier access to this new information, I’m not sure how helpful it will be for prospective residents and their families.
CMS in February proposed a new definition of private equity firms that would require nursing homes to disclose more about their ownership. CMS has raised concerns about the quality of care at nursing homes — particularly ones owned by private equity firms.
Dr. Robert Tyler Braun and Dr. Mark Unruh has their study, "Acquisitions of Hospice Agencies by Private Equity Firms and Publicly Traded Corporations", featured in the New York Times.
Private equity's reputationwhen it comes to nursing home ownership is on par with bed bugs, with President Biden even devoting a few withering lines of his most recent State of the Union address to chastise the relationship.
There were 1,145 private equity deals involving health systems, physician practices, nursing homes and disability care in 2021, per KPMG Advisory Services analysis.
Private equity investors disclosed spending $18.3 billion for these types of providers in 2021
A federal report found that 11% of U.S. nursing homes and 4% of hospitals are now owned by private equity firms.
The White House on Monday announced plans to boost nursing home staffing and oversight, blaming some of the 200,000-plus covid deaths of nursing home residents and staff during the pandemic on inadequate conditions.
