A look at the problem/opportunities that will be talked about at the NIC Spring Conference in Dallas.

By Steve Moran

I cringed when I wrote the headline for this article because it sounds so negative . . . and I am not all that much a fan of negative (despite what you might think). Except that the REALLY GOOD NEWS is that problems always represent a reshuffling of something, and reshuffling means NEW, FRESH, EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES.    

The Problems That Are Opportunities

Here are the problem/opportunities that will be talked about at the NIC Spring Conference in Dallas:

  • 20% of Medicare beneficiaries consume 84% of the Medicare budget. Senior Living is better positioned to reduce this spending than any other sector of the healthcare/senior care world.

  • One organization, Juniper Communities, has already been able to demonstrate senior living can reduce hospitalization rates by 50% in frail elderly populations. You can do this too. It is not magic or impossible even for a small organization. You will learn everything you need to get started.

  • 55% of Medicare beneficiaries are in population-based care. This reorders whole payment schemes and presents the PERFECT OPPORTUNITY for senior living.

  • Medicare Advantage enrollment now has 19M participants — the feds project a 41% increase over the next 10 years. This means it has become a lot easier to do creative cool stuff that will serve seniors better, keep your buildings fuller and, believe it or not, reduce costs.

  • Families end up being the ultimate “Accountable Care Organization.” It is unfair, unreasonable and so complicated that they fail at it more than they succeed. Over the last 18 months, I have failed at this myself, and I know what I am doing. I can’t imagine what it must be like for most families that don’t have a clue (and they shouldn’t need to have a clue).

  • There are proven innovative ways to take advantage of this problem. And it might as well be you that does it.

Senior Living is likely at an inflection point where we will either lead the pack or be upstaged by deep pocket players that today hardly know senior living exists. The best recent example of this is the Bloomberg Story about how Amazon, JP Morgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway are joining forces to create their own healthcare plan. It seems entirely possible they will come to realize being senior living providers could be a big part of reducing costs.

If any of this makes you think, “Aha, A huge opportunity,” come join me in Dallas for the NIC Spring Conference. You can find the details and register HERE.