Occupancy in U.S. skilled nursing properties continued to fall in the third quarter with an unusually large year-over-year decline, the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, or NIC, said in a report.
The quarter-end occupancy figure of 81.6% represented a 29-basis-point decline from the end of the second quarter, and a 167-point decline year over year. The year-over-year decline was the second-largest such drop in the last five years for the third quarter. Occupancy has stayed flat or even increased in previous third quarters, so the dip is "most likely not a seasonal phenomenon," NIC said.
Downward pressure on occupancy has been steady since May 2015, the last month that occupancy was 85% or higher, the firm added.
Managed Medicare revenue per patient day also continued to slide, reaching a new low within NIC's nearly five-year window of $431. Overall, the figure has declined 13.2% from five years earlier, with a negative 2.8% compounded annual growth rate over the period. The rate fell 1.8% quarter over quarter in what NIC called a "significant deterioration" from the prior quarterly decline of 0.2%.
