Stackpole & Associates, Inc.

10/10/2026

Maybe the healthcare "system" is part of the disease?
https://bit.ly/3TLPsJW

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As enrollment for Medicare Advantage begins this month, older Americans are confronting fewer options because insurers are discontinuing coverage in many areas.

10/08/2026

Most people want to age at home. Medicaid cuts are making that harder.

Because of reduced federal funding, states are cutting optional services like home and community-based care, and everyone is struggling with workforce shortages.

The risk: people are pushed into solutions - like nursing homes - they don't need, at a higher cost to the same public budgets, just as nursing home capacity is shrinking.

Cutting the most efficient part of the system rarely saves money. It shifts the costs.

How are home care providers in your market adapting?

10/08/2026

Dispense with gratuitous questions: of course robots can and will help!
https://share.google/Nm0bPlzzZV6Dzxa8A

It’s Sue’s worst nightmare - an overly attentive, socially inept, second-hand robot carer. But maybe this droid has its uses... Starring Diane Morgan and Sue Johnston.

10/08/2026

To see the demographic future, look at Japan.
https://share.google/KGtMglMDBGyTyIRty

Japanese government data show the percentage of people aged 65 or older in the country's total population has hit a new record. The size of the elderly working population is also at an all-time high.

10/07/2026

Cross-border healthcare isn't only about patients who travel. It's also about the clinicians who do.

According to the WHO:
→ One in seven nurses works outside their country of birth
→ 23% of nurses in high-income countries are foreign-born
→ High-income countries hold 17% of the world's population but 46% of its nurses

This is health services trade at scale. The challenge: recruiting ethically, so one country's solution doesn't become another's shortage.

Ethical recruitment isn't a box to tick. It's strategy.

How is your organization approaching international clinical recruitment?

10/07/2026

Medicaid pays for more than half of US long-term care. Major cuts are coming.

→ About $911 billion less in federal Medicaid spending through 2034
→ States projected to lose more than $660 billion over the decade
→ From 1 January 2028, no Medicaid long-term care coverage above $1 million in home equity, not indexed for inflation

Operators: revisit your payer-mix assumptions now.
Families: Medicaid can no longer be assumed as the backstop.

Is your organisation, or your family, stress-testing its plans?

10/06/2026

Most seniors' housing feasibility studies spend pages on demand: age- and income-qualified households, pe*******on rates, competing supply.

Then they treat staffing as one assumption line.

But employee compensation averages 56.2% of operating budgets, and vacancies are crippling many operators.

If more than half the budget rests on people, the study must answer:
→ Who will staff this building?
→ At what wage?
→ From how far away?

Demand tells you who will move in. A workforce study tells you who will show up.

10/06/2026

Senior housing just passed 90% occupancy.

Across NIC MAP's 31 primary US markets:
→ Average occupancy is above 90%, the highest since 2014
→ 61% of properties are above 90%
→ Boston and Tampa lead the way

The recovery story is over. The supply story has begun. New construction isn't keeping pace as the oldest boomers reach 80.

For developers and investors, feasibility matters more in a tight market, not less. Especially labor/workforce analysis.

Where do you see the strongest pipeline opportunities?

10/05/2026

The oldest baby boomers turn 80 this year. Yet US nursing home capacity fell 5% between 2019 and 2024.

→ More than 900 fewer certified nursing facilities than a decade ago
→ In New York alone, 24 nursing homes closed since 2020, removing 3,000+ beds
→ Workforce shortages and low Medicaid rates are the main drivers
Even in New York TImes: https://bit.ly/4dnLD45

Demand is rising while beds disappear. Any feasibility study that doesn't model this gap, and the workforce behind it, is incomplete.

How is your market responding to the bed gap?

As the oldest baby boomers turn 80, researchers worry there won’t be enough room in nursing facilities for a rapidly graying nation.

10/02/2026

EU cross-border healthcare rules are being rewritten. The proposal would end advance patient payments, create income-based travel and lodging support, and speed up authorizations.

If adopted, patient flows across Europe will shift. Are you ready? Get in touch!