“Seniors housing municipal bonds under distress due to COVID-19 costs,” by Amy Novotney, McKnight’s Senior Living

 

Quote:

“The coronavirus is pushing more continuing care retirement communities into financial upheaval and putting pressure on the municipal bonds that financed them, according to an article Wednesday in Bloomberg Law. Some communities, unable to accept new occupants amidst COVID-19 restrictions, are using stimulus loans to make payroll, drawing in debt service reserves to make interest payments and even asking bondholders to forgo interest payments for the next year, the article reports. Since the beginning of March, at least five retirement communities have missed a debt payment, drawn on reserves or violated bond covenants, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. At least one assisted living community and one nursing home operator have missed debt payments. Although most CCRCs (also known as life plan communities) house seniors who live by themselves and need less care — thus avoiding the heavy outbreaks seen in skilled nursing and assisted living — they’re still grappling with higher costs to protect patients and an inability to generate revenue through new admissions.”

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
The only thing worse than being confined to institutional care is having no place to go when you really need one and all the nursing homes and assisted living facilities have gone bankrupt.