Please note that this interview was conducted in fall 2022; while some of the references to macroeconomic conditions may have shifted since then, the overall discussion on reform strategies remains timely and relevant.

As the co-founder and former CEO of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), Robert Kramer has a deep and broad perspective on the financial factors that shape long-term care. Like it or not, in a for-profit healthcare system, where investors put their dollars – and where they don’t – has a direct impact on the types of services that are available to elders across the country. 

It also has a significant effect on the quality of those services provided. For decades, capital has generally shied away from building new infrastructure dedicated to Medicaid-funded long-term care services, and the nation’s nursing homes continue to age into obsolescence. But per-bed prices for those homes remain at record highs, illustrating the continued profitability of an existing system that far too often falls short of even adequacy – and highlighting the need for serious shifts in the way we fund eldercare.

The Center for Innovation’s Alex Spanko sat down with Kramer to talk through the current nursing home investment landscape, and discuss possible financial levers for driving change in long-term care. 

For a transcript of this podcast, CLICK HERE. 

Learn more about the producers of “Mission Possible”:

https://thegreenhouseproject.org/

https://theconsumervoice.org/

https://paltc.org/