Who Owns a Nursing Home, and Why It Matters
The name on the sign is often not the company that owns or runs the home. Medicare publishes who owns and manages every certified nursing home, and it is worth a look before you choose.
Ownership affects decisions families feel every day: staffing levels, how much is spent on care, and how quickly problems are fixed. Medicare requires every certified nursing home to report its owners and managers, and this directory shows that information on each facility page.
What the ownership data shows
- Ownership type: for-profit, nonprofit or government. Most U.S. nursing homes are for-profit.
- Direct owners: people or companies that own 5% or more of the home itself.
- Indirect owners: people or companies that own the companies that own the home, sometimes through several layers.
- Operational or managerial control: a management company or person that runs the home day to day, which may be different from the owner.
- Officers, directors and managing employees: the people responsible for running it.
On each facility page, the “Who owns” question gives a short summary, and the full list is in the full inspection report.
See the operating companies Medicare lists, how their homes are rated and which homes each runs, on our nursing home companies page.
Why it matters
Many homes belong to chains that own dozens of homes. A chain’s record across its homes can tell you a lot about how a particular home is likely to be run. Researchers and regulators have also looked closely at homes bought by private equity firms and at arrangements where the home pays related companies owned by the same people for rent, staffing or supplies. None of this means a home is good or bad, but it is worth understanding.
Ownership also changes. Medicare flags homes that changed owners in the last year; a recent sale can bring new management, new policies and staff turnover.
Questions to ask
- Who owns this home, and does the owner run other homes nearby? Can I see how they do?
- Has the home changed owners or management recently? What changed for staff and residents?
- Is the administrator employed by the home or by a management company?
- Have staffing levels or turnover changed since the current owners took over?