Judith Waltz Comments on Proposal to Require SNFs to Reveal Private Equity Owners

Foley & Lardner LLP Partner Judith Waltz is quoted in the article, “Proposed Rule Would Require SNFs to Reveal Private Equity Owners; More Screening is Here,” in the Report on Medicare Compliance, published by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), discussing a proposed regulation by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that would revise the Medicare enrollment form to require owning and managing entities of Medicare skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to disclose whether they are a private equity company or real estate investment trust (REIT).

Waltz said that as a practical matter, it is not apparent specifically how CMS will use the newfound details about ownership interests.

“I don’t know what CMS does with it at the end of the day,” Waltz said. While she noted CMS may shift survey resources under the Medicare conditions of participation to private equity/REIT-owned SNFs on the grounds they pose more risk, those resources are already stretched as is. She concluded that “all I can figure is this is a public shaming.

“You can’t just terminate a facility because it’s owned by a private equity firm,” she added.