San Juan Capistrano, California — One of the country’s largest skilled nursing operators just reported its best quarter on record — and it’s raising its outlook for the rest of the year, even as managed care plans grow more aggressive and hospital referral volumes shift unpredictably. The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) reported first-quarter 2026 results on April 30, posting GAAP diluted earnings per share of $1.67 — a 21.9% jump over the same period last year. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.85, also up 21.7% year over year. Net income hit $99.7 million for the quarter, a 24.2% increase. The…
Author: Mordy Y
Dana Point, California — CareTrust REIT has closed roughly $628 million in new investments, with a portfolio of 15 California skilled nursing facilities serving as the centerpiece of the deal spree. The transactions push the real estate investment trust’s total 2026 investment activity to nearly $1 billion — and the company says it’s not done yet. The California portfolio, acquired through a series of related off-market sale-leaseback transactions with a California-based skilled nursing operator, cost approximately $380 million and includes about 1,700 beds. It marks the start of a new operator relationship for CareTrust. The properties are triple-net leased back…
Washington, District of Columbia — A new federal audit says most nursing homes in the United States still lack emergency power systems strong enough to protect residents during a major outage, a finding that lands just ahead of hurricane season. The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 72 of the 100 nursing homes it audited had at least one emergency power deficiency. Based on that sample, the agency estimated that 10,983 of the nation’s 15,115 nursing homes, or 73%, have emergency power systems that are either inadequate or unreliable. What the audit…
Washington, District of Columbia – Federal nursing home surveyors are being pushed toward a more standardized playbook, and one of the biggest changes may be when they show up. According to industry reports tied to newly revised federal guidance, providers should expect more survey activity to begin outside the normal workday, including evenings and weekends. The change is meant to give inspectors a clearer look at real-world staffing and care patterns instead of a facility’s best weekday presentation. For operators, that’s not a small tweak. Off-hours starts can test shift handoffs, overnight coverage, and how quickly staff respond when leadership…
Richmond, Virginia — A mysterious new political action committee, funded by companies tied to out-of-state nursing home chains, quietly became one of Virginia’s top political donors in early 2026 — and patient advocates say the timing wasn’t a coincidence. When the state’s General Assembly session ended, every meaningful nursing home reform bill had been gutted, shelved, or turned into yet another study. The PAC, called Organizing for Virginia Seniors, donated more than $300,000 to Virginia politicians before the legislative session began, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project. Political analysts called the amount unusually high for the…
Ann Arbor, Michigan — A major national study has found that the more severe a stroke, the sharper the drop in cognitive function that follows — and for the most serious cases, the odds of developing dementia are five times higher than in people who never had a stroke at all. The research, published in JAMA Network Open and led by scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School, tracked more than 42,000 American adults — including roughly 1,500 stroke survivors — for up to 30 years. The findings paint a clear picture: stroke severity isn’t just a measure of…
Mesa, Arizona — For years, Arizona families have been told by long-term care facilities that they couldn’t install cameras in their loved ones’ rooms. That could be about to change. The Arizona House approved Senate Bill 1041 on a 41-11 vote Wednesday, sending the measure to the Senate for final approval. The bill would allow residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities — or their designated representatives — to place electronic monitoring devices in their rooms, regardless of whether the facility consents. The timing couldn’t have been more pointed. Just days before the vote, police arrested a Mesa caregiver…
Columbus, Ohio — Ohio is staring down a projected $33 billion loss in Medicaid funding over the next decade — and the state’s nursing homes are directly in the line of fire. Health care policy analysts are warning that the federal reconciliation bill signed last year, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will force Ohio to dismantle key funding mechanisms that have long kept its Medicaid program afloat. The ripple effects, they say, will reach every nursing home in the state. “In total across all the provisions, Ohio is expected to lose about $33 billion over the next…
Des Moines, Iowa — State inspectors are flagging more Iowa nursing homes for failing to maintain minimum staffing levels, but the citations aren’t coming with penalties — and advocates say that gap is putting residents at risk. A new investigation found that multiple Iowa facilities have been cited in recent months for violating longstanding federal requirements to maintain “sufficient” staffing, yet none of those citations resulted in fines. Among the homes recently flagged: Harmony House Healthcare Center in Waterloo, which was visited by state inspectors on March 25, 2026, to look into eight separate quality-of-care complaints. Separately, Adel Acres —…
More than 1.2 million Americans live in nursing homes, and a growing share are missing out on a Medicare Advantage option that could keep them out of the hospital. Institutionalized Special Needs Plans — known as I-SNPs — are designed specifically for long-term care residents. They place clinical staff on-site, align financial incentives between insurers and facilities, and focus on preventing unnecessary medical care. Research shows they reduce hospitalizations. But only 7.6% of eligible Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled. A new policy paper from the Hoover Institution argues that’s a missed opportunity — and it’s calling on federal regulators to fix…
