60 Seconds with Steve Monroe and Ben Swett
60 Seconds is a weekly video series hosted by The SeniorCare Investor’s Steve Monroe and Ben Swett. It covers the biggest news of the week, the latest M&A trends, market statistics or other analysis at the top of their minds in the seniors housing and care industry. Any suggestions on future topics, thoughts on recent videos, or inquiries into sponsorship opportunities can be sent to editorial@levinassociates.com.
May 19, 2026 – 60 Seconds with Ben Swett: Here We Go Again
An AARP report warns assisted living lacks national standards and faces affordability issues. Critics argue more regulation and staffing mandates could raise costs, price out seniors, and strain providers already facing labor shortages. While Medicaid expansion may help access, overreliance could hurt quality, echoing nursing home challenges.
Transcript
AARP just published a report on assisted living, and all I can say is, here we go again. It concludes that “the state of assisted living today is cause for concern for many stakeholders. The lack of national federal standards for care centers creates an underregulated space.” It continues on, stating that the “absence of national oversight, standards, and definitions results in a patchwork of inconsistent state policies forming the national landscape of assisted living.”
The report also mentions that affordability is a growing problem, and we could not agree more. However, as we saw in the nursing home industry, when you start to over-regulate, with national staffing standards and rules, the costs go up. How does that square with the question of affordability? If you increase regulations and staffing requirements, whether they are good ones or bad ones, costs will increase, and a growing number of seniors will be priced out. Too many are already priced out today.
The report also laments the fact that Medicaid is not as prevalent a payer as it maybe should be in assisted living. While we agree that Medicaid waivers can be useful for the assisted living sector, the problem is that if Medicaid becomes too large a factor, assisted living will suffer from quality problems just like the nursing home sector did. It’s great for a while, like in the late 1960s for nursing homes, until it isn’t.
And I question whether assisted living providers, as stakeholders, are concerned about the state of assisted living today. During the pandemic, everyone was concerned. But today census is increasing, cash flow is increasing and demand will continue to increase for the next 20 years. They will be concerned, however, if an increasing number of potential residents get priced out because of onerous regulations and staffing requirements that can’t be met with the persistent labor supply problems. Let’s look for real solutions, and as our friend Steve Moses likes to say, let’s not fall into the trap of demanding Ritz Carlton care for Motel 6 rates.
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