Salt Lake City, Utah — When Jason Murray took the stage Tuesday to address investors, he didn’t sugarcoat what the past year has been for PACS Group. He called it, plainly, a “time of crisis.”
But the CEO of the Utah-based nursing home giant — which now operates 323 facilities across 17 states — came with a message: the company that navigated a federal billing investigation and an internal audit that stretched more than a year is not the same company that entered that storm.
“We’re a different organization,” Murray told investors during the company’s 2026 outlook update, according to industry reports.
How It Started
The trouble began in November 2024, when an institutional short-seller report alleged irregularities in PACS Group’s billing practices. The allegations hit hard — the stock, which trades on the Nasdaq, swung dramatically, touching a 52-week low of $7.50 before recovering to roughly $35 in recent weeks.
In response, the company launched a 14-month internal investigation led by its board directors alongside outside counsel, while simultaneously addressing inquiries from federal investigators. That internal review has since been resolved.
The government inquiry, Murray confirmed, is still active. But he said it has progressed normally, hasn’t introduced new risks, and hasn’t slowed the company’s operations or financial momentum. He offered no timeline for a resolution.
A Company Built Fast — and Still Growing
PACS started in 2013 with just two facilities in Southern California. Thirteen years later, it’s one of the largest skilled nursing operators in the country. The company posted full-year 2025 revenue of $5.29 billion — a 29% jump from the year before — with fourth-quarter sales climbing roughly 12% to $1.36 billion.
Murray framed 2026 as a year of disciplined growth, pointing to strong occupancy at mature facilities, improving clinical quality metrics, and a conservative balance sheet. In early March, the company added Patrick H. Conway — the CEO of Optum and a former senior official at CMS — to its board of directors, a move that signals the company wants deeper regulatory credibility as it navigates the ongoing probe.
That hire drew attention in policy circles. Conway knows federal oversight from the inside, having shaped nursing home quality programs during his time at CMS. His arrival on the PACS board suggests the company isn’t just hoping to outlast the investigation — it’s trying to rebuild trust with regulators structurally.
What It Means for the Industry
The PACS saga has unfolded against a broader backdrop of tightening federal scrutiny across skilled nursing. Regulators have shown an increased willingness to pursue billing irregularities and ownership affiliations — a trend that’s put compliance teams at providers of all sizes on edge. As one recent case demonstrated, the legal fallout for nursing home executives can extend well beyond the original investigation.
For PACS, the road ahead depends on how the government inquiry concludes. Murray’s message Tuesday was one of confidence — but with a federal investigation still open, investors and operators watching the company know the story isn’t over yet.
