Other Trends and Conditions
In addition to the impacts of COVID-19 discussed above, our operators have been and are likely to continue to be adversely affected by labor shortages and increased labor costs. In addition, our operations have also been and are likely to continue to be impacted by increased competition for the acquisition of facilities in the U.S., which has decreased the number of investment opportunities that would be accretive to our portfolio. As part of our continuous evaluation of our portfolio and in connection with certain operator restructuring transactions, we expect to continue to opportunistically sell assets, or portfolios of assets, from time to time.
We continue to monitor the impacts of other regulatory changes, as discussed below, including any significant limits on the scope of services reimbursed and on reimbursement rates and fees, which could have a material adverse effect on an operator’s results of operations and financial condition, which could adversely affect the operator’s ability to meet its obligations to us.
Government Regulation and Reimbursement
The following information supplements and updates, and should be read in conjunction with, the information contained under the caption Item 1. Business – Government Regulation and Reimbursement in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The healthcare industry is heavily regulated. Our operators, which are primarily based in the U.S., are subject to extensive and complex federal, state and local healthcare laws and regulations; we also have several U.K.-based operators which are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in their jurisdiction. These laws and regulations are subject to frequent and substantial changes resulting from the adoption of new legislation, rules and regulations, and administrative and judicial interpretations of existing law. The ultimate timing or effect of these changes, which may be applied retroactively, cannot be predicted. Changes in laws and regulations impacting our operators, in addition to regulatory non-compliance by our operators, can have a significant effect on the operations and financial condition of our operators, which in turn may adversely impact us. There is the potential that we may be subject directly to healthcare laws and regulations because of the broad nature of some of these regulations, such as the Anti-kickback Statute and False Claims Act, among others.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) declared a public health emergency on January 31, 2020 following the World Health Organization's decision to declare COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. This declaration, which has been extended through January 11, 2023, allows HHS to provide temporary regulatory waivers and new reimbursement rules designed to equip providers with flexibility to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by suspending various Medicare patient coverage criteria and documentation and care requirements, including, for example, suspension of the three-day prior hospital stay coverage requirement and expanding the list of approved services which may be provided via telehealth. These regulatory actions have contributed, and may continue to contribute, to a change in census volumes and skilled nursing mix that may not otherwise have occurred. It remains uncertain when federal and state regulators will resume enforcement of those regulations which are waived or otherwise not being enforced during the public health emergency due to the exercise of enforcement discretion, and when the public health emergency declaration will terminate.
These temporary changes to regulations and reimbursement, as well as emergency legislation, including the CARES Act enacted on March 27, 2020 and discussed below, continue to have a significant impact on the operations and financial condition of our operators. The extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the Company’s and our operators’ operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including the sufficiency and timeliness of additional governmental relief, the duration, spread and intensity of the outbreak, the impact of genetic mutations of the virus into new variants, the impact of vaccine distributions and booster doses on our operators and their populations, the impact of vaccine mandates on staffing shortages at our operators, as well as the difference in how the pandemic may impact SNFs in contrast to ALFs, all of which developments and impacts are uncertain and difficult to predict. Due to these uncertainties, we are not able at this time to estimate the effect of these factors on our business; however, the adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be material.