Private investment purchase and nursing home financial health.

Objective: To explore the impact of nursing home acquisition by private investment firms on nursing home costs, revenue, and overall financial health.
Data Sources: Merged data from the Medicare Cost Reports and the Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting system for the period 1998-2010.
Study Design: Regression specification incorporating facility and time fixed effects.
Principal Findings: We found little impact on the financial health of nursing homes following purchase by private investment companies. However, our findings did suggest that private investment firms acquired nursing home chains in good financial health, possibly to derive profit from the company's real estate holdings.
Conclusions: Private investment acquired facilities are an important feature of today's nursing home sector. Although we did not observe a negative impact on the financial health of nursing homes, this development raises important issues about ownership oversight and transparency for the entire nursing home sector.
(© Health Research and Educational Trust.)