Seniors Housing & Care Industry Support and Networks

Seniors Housing & Care Industry Support and Networks

  • Who are the national industry organizations?
  • What are the prominent publications and periodicals?
  • What legislation affects seniors housing and care?
  • What college/universities offer programs focused on the seniors housing and care property market?

 


 

Who are the national industry organizations?

The National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC) has served as a valuable resource to lenders, investors, developers/operators, and others interested in meeting the housing and care needs of America’s seniors. The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to support access and choice for America’s seniors by providing data, analytics, and connections that bring together investors and providers.

The private, not-for-profit Alliance for Aging Research is a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of Americans as they grow older by advancing biomedical and behavioral research in aging and health.

The American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) provides leadership for the seniors housing industry on legislative and regulatory matters, advances research, education, and the exchange of strategic business information, and promotes the merits of seniors housing.

Argentum and its members aim to exemplify the principles of choice, dignity, and independence for seniors. To support these principles and to enhance quality of life for seniors, Argentum influences public policy, promotes business excellence, and ensures an informed public.

LeadingAge—formerly the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA)—consists of 6,000+ member organizations, many of which have served their communities for generations, and offers the continuum of aging services: adult day services, home health, community services, senior housing, assisted living residences, continuing care retirement communities, and nursing homes. LeadingAge’s commitment is to create the future of aging services through quality people can trust.

The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) is the assisted living voice of the American Health Care Association (AHCA). NCAL is dedicated to serving the needs of the assisted living community through national advocacy, education, networking, professional development, and quality initiatives.

These are just a few organizations and affiliations. There are many others providing support and information that serve the industry.


 

What are the prominent publications and periodicals?

Published biennially the NIC Investment Guide is the definitive resource for navigating the seniors housing and care property sector. Rich in fresh data, accurate insights, and in-depth analysis, the guide is invaluable to anyone within the sector, or seeking to better understand it.

The NIC Notes Blog is NIC’s frequently updated blog with posts focused on seniors housing, skilled nursing, market trends, CCRCs, economic trends, regulatory environments, workforce topics and more. Information on new NIC MAP Data Service data releases and data deep dives are also featured.

The NIC Insider Newsletter is a monthly newsletter featuring timely interviews, deep dives into NIC MAP data, conference recaps, and articles focused on recent events in the seniors housing and care sector among other topics.

The NIC COVID-19 Resource Center is a resource for all of NIC’s initiatives in response to the pandemic. The COVID-19 Resource Center is a hub for recordings of Leadership Huddles, survey results from our Executive Insights Surveys, our COVID-19 Reach Tracker, the Intra-Quarterly Snapshot, along with COVID-19 related articles and resources.

The NIC MAP® Data Service provides quarterly market data, including occupancy and rental rate data, across 140 metropolitan markets in the United States and covering over 15,800 seniors housing and nursing care properties.

Senior Living Executive is Argentum’s bi-monthly magazine that delivers the latest information, resources, and tools for senior living community leaders with a focus on trends in workforce development, quality improvement, operational excellence, consumer choice, and memory care.

McKnight’s Long-Term Care News is a business news magazine serving the institutional long term care field.

National Real Estate Investor (NREI) often publishes special editions on seniors housing-related matters, as well as more regular coverage of industry happenings and topics.

Provider is a monthly magazine for long term care professionals and is published in affiliation with the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center of Assisted Living.

The Senior Care Investor provides one of the most commonly used and cited sources of information on transactions in the sector.

The American Seniors Housing Association’s (ASHA’s) annual State of Senior Housing provides another source for industry operational data of all types.

Many other industry organizations, affiliations, and brokerages also publish periodic reports with industry subject matter, including the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), and Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

 


 

What legislation affects seniors housing and care?

Any legislation that affects health care reform, reimbursement, and regulation has a significant effect on seniors housing and care properties.

The Health Care Reform Legislation of 2010 has had a significant impact upon the industry. Although 2018 tax reform legislation repealed the individual mandate requiring Americans to obtain healthcare coverage, many aspects of the Affordable Care Act are still at play, including expansion of the Medicaid program and increasing transparency for skilled nursing properties.

Medicaid and Medicare are significant components in the industry revenue structure, especially in skilled nursing, and to a lesser extent in the assisted living, subsectors. As such, any modification of these entitlement programs may have considerable effects.

A new case-mix model, the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), began October 1, 2019, marking a significant change in the SNF payment system.  PDPM is intended to improve payment accuracy and appropriateness by focusing on the patient, rather than the volume of services provided.  The case-mix adjusted components of PDPM include physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), speech language pathology (SLP), nursing, and non-therapy ancillary services.

The CHRONIC Care Act of 2018 gives Medicare Advantage plans more flexibility to cover “non-medical” benefits like bathroom grab bars and wheelchair ramps for the chronically ill, expands telehealth services, provides access to home dialysis, and establishes a new program in which ACOs can pay patients to come in for primary care appointments.

Many states have defined governing or oversight agencies that oversee property licensing, regulation, and inspection to include need-based certifications to operate properties’ units or beds. Level and type of regulation varies greatly by state.

Additionally, tax credit and incentive-based financing programs may be affected by changes in their respective governmental programs.

Federal Fair Housing Act: The Fair Housing Act was enacted in 1968 and it was created with the intent to “prohibit discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings and in other housing-related transactions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.”

Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA): HOPA was added to the Fair Housing Act in 1995 and changed the previously enacted 55 and older exemption. HOPA lays out specific requirements for housing that are designed to accommodate 55 and older persons in order to fall under the exemption to the Fair Housing Act and specifically the definition of familial status. Communities or facilities which are exempt under HOPA do not have to define family or accommodate for those that fall within the definition in the way that HUD has set forth.

HOPA requires that a facility or community seeking to claim the 55 and older exemption must show three factors:

  1. That the housing be intended and operated for persons 55 years of age and older;
  2. That at least 80 percent of the occupied units be occupied by at least one person who is 55 years of age or older; and
    • In order to comply with the occupancy requirement, HOPA must adhere to the HUD verification rules for occupancy requirements.
  3. The housing facility or community publish and adhere to policies and procedures that demonstrate its intent to qualify for the exemption.

 


 

What college/universities offer programs focused on the seniors housing and care property market?

The University of Maryland Baltimore County’s (UMBC’s) Erickson School for Aging Studies provides undergraduate, graduate, and executive-level educational programs on industry topics, as well as assistance in career placement. The Erickson School offers a master’s degree in management of aging services.

A Master of Science degree in seniors housing administration was recently launched at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In addition, a Master of Science degree in management, elder care administration, is offered at Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts, and a master’s degree in long-term care seniors housing and aging services are offered at the University of North Texas, Denton.

The University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles, California, offers a Master of Aging Services Management (MASM). University of North Carolina, Greensboro offers a master’s degree in Gerontology with a concentration in Aging and Business. Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., offers a Master of Science in Aging & Health.

George Washington University in Washington, D.C., offers a graduate certificate in long-term administration through its School of Public Health & Health Services. Within Washington State University’s School of Hospitality Business Management, the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living offers the opportunity to major in Senior Living Management as well as a Senior Living Management certificate program.

Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration offers a course on seniors housing and care, as well as facilitating internships and career placement.  University of Florida’s School of Geography recently began offering a course on housing and care options for the U.S. elderly.

Many other universities throughout the nation offer courses with some introduction to seniors housing and care topics and the industry continues to gain prominence within various undergraduate and graduate-level curriculums. If there are other existing degree programs focused on seniors housing and care, please bring them to our attention so we can add them to this list.

March 14 2024 NIC Insider Newsletter Now Available Read Now »