Private equity LTC homes have the highest mortality rate during pandemic, UW study finds

As the pandemic revealed the shortcomings of long-term-care homes across Canada, primarily in for-profit homes, a recent study has found that LTCs owned by private equity firms and large chains have the highest mortality rates. 

The study, conducted by University of Waterloo professor Martine August, traced the growing dominance of financial firms in senior housing. August found that homes with the highest profit margins have the lowest quality and “are even more aggressive in seeking to extract value from care homes and the people who live and work in them.”

“This study is not focused on the public or non-profit seniors’ facilities across Canada, but rather, the pension funds, private-equity firms, public companies, and other instruments treating long-term care as an asset class,” said August of Waterloo’s School of Planning. “When financial firms own and operate seniors housing, they prioritize profit at the expense of other goals.”

In tracking LTC ownership data from 2003 to 2020, August found Canada’s top-10 financial firms have doubled their holdings of LTCs since 2003. In fact, 33 per cent of seniors' housing is owned by financial firms. 

“Financial firms are in seniors’ housing for what they can take from it, not what they can contribute. This approach – and the prioritization of profits is what guides financial firms,” she said. “It’s at odds with the social and moral imperatives that underline the need to provide good homes, high-quality care and dignified environments for our elderly populations and the workers who care for them.”

You can read the full study here.