Between 2019 and 2024, 425 nursing homes in Florida (over 60% of Florida’s total nursing homes) changed ownership, with at least one-third of these sold to private equity investors. In 2019, 29 of Florida’s total nursing home facilities reported ownership changes. In 2020, the number of ownership changes increased to 61 facilities. In 2021, that number increased to 76 facilities, and in 2022 the number increased to 122. Between 2023 and early 2024, an additional 147 nursing home facilities changed ownership in Florida.
A recent analysis found that, in most cases, the nursing homes’ quality of care performance worsened after the sale.
One study found that long-stay residents of private equity-owned nursing homes were more likely to be hospitalized for conditions that could be treated on an outpatient basis and that, when compared to other for-profit nursing homes, equity-owned nursing homes’ total Medicare-costs were $1,000 higher per resident. Another study found a significant shift in equity-owned nursing home operating costs where funds were directed away from resident care and staffing toward things like “management fees” paid to the facility’s private investors – that is, investor profits.
Among the 156 Florida nursing homes acquired by private equity firms, the average CMS ratings dropped from an average of 3.4-stars to 2.9-stars between 2019 and early 2024. In 2019, prior to their acquisition, 28% of the facilities had a 5-star or well-above-average quality rating, while only 10% had a 1-star or significantly-below-average quality of care rating. By 2024, the percentage of facilities with 5-star ratings dropped to 14%, while the percentage of 1-star nursing homes rose to 21%. Forty of the 156 nursing homes analyzed dropped by 2 or more stars after they were sold to private equity.
For the 156 private equity-acquired nursing home facilities, direct care staffing levels dropped by an average of 13% for each resident, from 4.21 hours of care per day per resident in 2019, to 3.66 hours of care in 2024 (an average loss of 33 minutes of care per resident each day). The reduction in staffing levels was most apparent in nursing homes that began with higher ratings in 2019 (those with 4- or 5-stars), with the average daily care time falling by 36 minutes for each resident.
“The Florida data on nursing home ownership demonstrate the extent to which private investors are acquiring financial interests in Florida nursing homes and the effect on the quality of care. The data further show how difficult it is to know who is accountable for the quality of care in many investor-owned nursing homes and how to track whether government money goes to resident care versus management fees and payments to related companies. Investor ownership is increasing across the senior housing and service sector in Florida and the United States. Understanding who these investors are and how these companies are structured is increasingly critical for both consumers and policymakers – so that consumers can find quality care and policymakers can determine how public dollars are being spent.”
If you or a loved one suffered harm while a resident of a nursing home in Florida or in another U.S. state due to nursing home pressure ulcers, nursing home understaffing, nursing home abuse, nursing home neglect, nursing home negligence, or the failure to provide appropriate care for a vulnerable adult, you should promptly find a nursing home claim lawyer in Florida or in your state who may investigate your nursing home claim for you and file a nursing home claim on your behalf or behalf of your loved one, if appropriate.
Visit our website to be connected with medical malpractice attorneys (nursing home negligence attorneys) in your U.S. state who may assist you with your nursing home claim, or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959.
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