Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) Risk Analysis

The regulatory environment surrounding the senior living industry continues to intensify in the number and type of laws and regulations affecting it, many of which vary from state to state. Many senior living communities are subject to regulation and licensing by state and local health and social service agencies and other regulatory authorities. In several of the states in which we operate there are different levels of care that may be provided based on the level of licensure. Several of the states in which we operate, or intend to operate, assisted living and memory care communities, or skilled nursing facilities require a certificate of need before a community may be opened or the services at an existing community may be expanded. These regulatory requirements, and the increased enforcement thereof, could affect our ability to expand into new markets, to expand our services and communities in existing markets, and if any of our presently licensed communities were to operate outside of its licensing authority, may subject us to penalties including closure of the community. Federal, state, and local officials are increasingly focusing their efforts on enforcement of these laws and regulations. This can be particularly true for large for-profit, multi-community providers like us. Future regulatory developments as well as mandatory increases in the scope and severity of deficiencies determined by survey or inspection officials could cause our operations to suffer. We are unable to predict the future course of federal, state, and local legislation or regulation. If regulatory requirements increase, whether through enactment of new laws or regulations or changes in the enforcement of existing rules, our business, results of operations, and cash flow could be adversely affected. The intensified regulatory and enforcement environment impacts providers like us because of the increase in the number of inspections or surveys by governmental authorities and consequent citations for failure to comply with regulatory requirements. We also expend considerable resources to respond to federal and state investigations or other enforcement action. From time to time in the ordinary course of business, we receive survey reports from state or federal regulatory bodies citing deficiencies resulting from such inspections or surveys. Although most inspection deficiencies are resolved through a plan of corrective action, the reviewing agency may have the authority to take further action against a licensed or certified community, which could result in the imposition of fines, imposition of a provisional or conditional license, suspension or revocation of a license, suspension or denial of admissions or denial of payment for admissions, loss of certification as a provider under federal reimbursement programs, or imposition of other sanctions, including criminal penalties. Furthermore, certain states may allow citations in one community to impact other communities in the state. Revocation or suspension of a license, or a citation, at a given community could therefore impact our ability to obtain new licenses or to renew existing licenses at other communities, which may also cause us to default under our debt and lease documents and/or trigger cross-defaults. The failure to comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements could result in a material adverse effect to our business as a whole. There are various extremely complex federal and state laws governing a wide array of referrals, relationships, and arrangements and prohibiting fraud by healthcare providers, including those in the senior living industry, and governmental agencies are devoting increasing attention and resources to such anti-fraud initiatives. Some examples are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and the False Claims Act, which gives private individuals the ability to bring an action on behalf of the federal government. The violation of any of these laws or regulations may result in the imposition of fines or other penalties that could increase our costs and otherwise jeopardize our business. Because of incentives allowing a private individual to bring a claim on behalf of the federal government, so-called "whistleblower" suits have become more frequent. Additionally, since we operate communities that participate in federal and/or state healthcare reimbursement programs, we are subject to federal and state laws that prohibit anyone from presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for reimbursement which are false, fraudulent, or are for items or services that were not provided as claimed. Similar state laws vary from state to state. Violation of any of these laws can result in loss of licensure, citations, sanctions, and other criminal or civil fines and penalties, the refund of overpayments, payment suspensions, or termination of participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs, which may also cause us to default under our debt and lease documents and/or trigger cross-defaults. We are subject to certain federal and state laws that regulate financial arrangements by healthcare providers, such as the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark laws, and certain state referral laws. Authorities have interpreted the federal Anti-Kickback Statute very broadly to apply to many practices and relationships between healthcare providers and sources of patient referral. If we were to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, we may face criminal penalties and civil sanctions, including fines and possible exclusion from government reimbursement programs, which may also cause us to default under our debt and lease documents and/or trigger cross-defaults. Adverse consequences may also result if we violate federal Stark laws related to certain Medicare and Medicaid physician referrals. While we endeavor to comply with all laws that regulate the licensure and operation of our business, it is difficult to predict how our revenues could be affected if we were subject to an action alleging such violations. In addition, new disclosure standards and rules related to environmental matters have been adopted and may continue to be introduced in various states and other jurisdictions. In October 2023, California adopted new carbon and climate-related reporting requirements for large public and private companies doing business in the state. Further, the SEC finalized climate change disclosure rules in 2024. While the SEC rules are currently stayed pending litigation, as the nature, scope and complexity of environmental and climate change reporting, diligence and disclosure requirements expand, significant effort and expenses could be required to comply with the evolving requirements. As our disclosure obligations increase, third parties may make claims or bring litigation relating to those disclosures which may be costly.

We have been and are currently involved in litigation and claims incidental to the conduct of our business, which we believe are generally comparable to other companies in the senior living and healthcare industries. In addition, the Company has been and currently is involved in putative class action litigation regarding staffing at our communities and compliance with consumer protection laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act (and similar state laws). Certain claims and lawsuits allege large damage amounts, seek injunctive relief, and may require (and have required) significant costs to defend and resolve. As a result, we maintain general liability, professional liability, excess liability, and other insurance policies in amounts and with coverage and deductibles we believe are appropriate, based on the nature and risks of our business, historical experience, availability, and industry standards. Our current policies provide for deductibles for each claim and contain various exclusions from coverage. We use our wholly-owned captive insurance company for the purpose of insuring certain portions of our risk retention under our general and professional liability insurance programs. Accordingly, we are, in effect, self-insured for claims that are less than the deductible amounts, for claims that exceed the funding level of our wholly-owned captive insurance company, and for claims or portions of claims that are not covered by such policies and/or exceed the policy limits. If we experience a greater number of losses than we anticipate, or if certain claims are not covered by insurance, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. The senior living industry entails an inherent risk of liability, particularly given the demographics of our residents and the services we provide. In recent years, we, as well as other participants in our industry, have been subject to an increasing number of claims and lawsuits alleging that our services have resulted in resident injury or other adverse effects. Many of these lawsuits involve large damage claims and significant legal costs. The frequency and magnitude of such alleged claims and legal costs may increase due to increased turnover and a higher use of contract labor. Many states continue to consider tort reform and how it will apply to the senior living industry. We may continue to be faced with the threat of large jury verdicts in jurisdictions that do not find favor with large senior living providers. There can be no guarantee that we will not have any claims that exceed our policy limits in the future, which could subject us to substantial uninsured liabilities. If a successful claim is made against us and it is not covered by our insurance or exceeds the policy limits, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In some states, state law may prohibit or limit insurance coverage for the risk of punitive damages arising from professional liability and general liability claims and/or litigation. As a result, we may be liable for punitive damage awards in these states that either are not covered or are in excess of our insurance policy limits. Also, our insurance policies' deductibles, or self-insured retention, are accrued based on an actuarial projection of future liabilities. If these projections are inaccurate and if there is an unexpectedly large number of successful claims that result in liabilities in excess of our accrued reserves, our operating results could be negatively affected. Claims against us, regardless of their merit or eventual outcome, also could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and ability to attract residents or expand our business and could require our management to devote time to matters unrelated to the day-to-day operation of our business. Negative publicity with respect to any lawsuits, claims, or other legal or regulatory proceedings may also negatively impact our reputation. We also have to renew our policies every year and negotiate terms for coverage, exposing us to the volatility of the insurance markets, including the possibility of rate increases and changes in coverage and other terms. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain liability insurance in the future or, if available, that such coverage will be available on acceptable terms.

Under various federal, state, and local environmental laws, a current or previous owner or operator of real property, such as us, may be held liable in certain circumstances for the costs of investigation, removal, or remediation of, or related to the release of, certain hazardous or toxic substances, that could be located on, in, at, or under a property, regardless of how such materials came to be located there. The cost of any required investigation, remediation, removal, mitigation, compliance, fines, or personal or property damages and our liability therefore could exceed the property's value and/or our assets' value. In addition, the presence of such substances, or the failure to properly dispose of or remediate the damage caused by such substances, may adversely affect our ability to sell such property, to attract additional residents and retain existing residents, to borrow using such property as collateral, or to develop or redevelop such property. Such laws impose liability, which may be joint and several, for investigation, remediation, removal, and mitigation costs on persons who disposed of or arranged for the disposal of hazardous substances at third-party sites. Such laws and regulations often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence, release, or disposal of such substances as well as without regard to whether such release or disposal was in compliance with law at the time it occurred. Although we do not believe that we have incurred such liabilities as would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, we could be subject to substantial future liability for environmental contamination that we have no knowledge about as of the date of this report and/or for which we may not be at fault.

The senior living industry is highly competitive. We compete with numerous organizations, including not-for-profit entities, that offer similar communities and services, community-based service programs, retirement communities, convalescent centers, and other senior living providers. In general, regulatory and other barriers to competitive entry in the independent living, assisted living, and memory care sectors of the senior living industry are not substantial. In the decade prior to start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the industry historically attracted investments resulting in continuous increases in construction and development of new senior housing supply, and if this development were to return to pre-pandemic levels, it could result in increased competition. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in additional occupancy pressure for our industry, and industry data shows that nearly all markets had fallen to record low occupancy by the first quarter of 2021. While the industry recovers occupancy, certain competitors may price aggressively in order to capture market share. Further, advances in technology and at-home services may permit more seniors to age-in-place at home and could have an impact on the demand for senior living communities. Consequently, we may encounter competition that could limit our ability to attract and retain residents and associates, raise or maintain resident fees, and expand our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our occupancy, revenues, results of operations, and cash flow.

We may dispose of owned or leased communities through asset sales and lease terminations and expirations. The closings of any such transactions, or those that we identify in the future, generally are or will be subject to closing conditions, which may include the receipt of regulatory approvals, and we cannot provide assurance that any such transactions will close or, if they do, when the actual closings will occur. The sales price for future dispositions may not meet our expectations due to the underlying performance of such communities or conditions beyond our control, and we may be required to take impairment charges in connection with such sales if the carrying amounts of such assets exceed the proposed sales prices, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Further, we cannot provide assurance that we will be successful in identifying and pursuing disposition opportunities on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. We may be required to pay significant amounts to restructure or terminate leases and we may be required to take charges in connection with such activity, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Completion of the dispositions of communities through sales or lease terminations, or the termination of our management arrangements, including pending transactions and those we enter into in the future, would result in reductions to our revenue and may negatively impact our results of operations and cash flow. Further, if we are unable to reduce our general and administrative expense with respect to completed dispositions or management arrangement terminations in accordance with our expectations, we may not realize the expected benefits of such transactions, which could negatively impact our anticipated results of operations and cash flow.