Riverside, CA, is the first of the 31 primary markets that NIC MAP follows to reach its pre-pandemic stabilized occupancy level, according to the intra-quarterly snapshot released Thursday by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
At 86.3%, the market’s independent stabilized occupancy increased by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month and is now 0.1 percentage point above the March 2020 level. Riverside had lost 7.9 percentage points during the height of the pandemic.
Across the board, the stabilized occupancy levels for senior living in NIC MAP’s primary markets increased to 82.9% in May, up 0.2 percentage points from April on a three-month rolling basis, according to the newly released data. The stabilized occupancy rate for senior housing increased or remained stable in 23 of the 31 NIC MAP primary markets in May.
Portland, OR has not hit the mark in independent living. Stabilized occupancy in independent living fell by 0.5 percentage points in May to 87.6%, remaining 5.2 percentage points above the March 2020 level.
San Antonio has reached pre-pandemic levels in their assisted living segments. At 76.9%, senior housing stabilized occupancy in San Antonio saw the largest increase in independent living, up 1.4 percentage points from April, and is now 1.9 percentage points below its pre-pandemic level. The assisted living stabilized occupancy rate in Minneapolis, however, fell 0.5 percentage points from the previous reporting period to 83.4% on a three-month rolling basis and is still 7 percentage points below its pre-pandemic level.
Skilled nursing occupancy remains challenged, NIC Senior Principal Bill Kauffman wrote last week in a blog. He added, however, that long-term opportunities are on the horizon “as the growth of the senior population accelerates and skilled nursing properties will be the only option for many higher acuity patients given the current long-term care infrastructure in the country.”
According to Kauffman, freestanding skilled nursing facility occupancy has climbed 380 basis points (3.8%) from its pandemic low (73.5% in the first quarter of 2021) to 77.6% in the first quarter of 2022 within the 31 NIC MAP primary markets. Skilled nursing occupancy now has increased four quarters in a row, he noted.
Many skilled nursing operators, Kauffman said, cite staffing issues as a bigger challenge than occupancy levels. Solutions discussed within the industry include increased pay, better reimbursement, creating flexible schedules for current staff members, hiring workers from overseas and reining in staffing agency costs.
Reimbursement also gives operators cause for concern, he said.
“One of the current main concerns is the proposal to claw-back Medicare reimbursement as it relates to the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM), which became effective on October 1, 2019,” Kauffman wrote. “This PDPM recalibration is a surprise to many given the current state of the industry as operations and financial performance have been unclear due to COVID-19.”
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