Senior Living

The market for senior living facilities is expanding rapidly as baby boomers reach retirement age. Already, according to U.S. Census data, more than 15 percent of Pennsylvania’s population is age 65 or older, ranking fourth in the country. By 2030, that percentage will increase to more than 25 percent.

As the senior population grows, the high demand for continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and long-term care facilities will increase. Pennsylvania is among the states with the highest number of CCRCs (life plan communities) in the country. Many of them are concentrated here in central and southeastern Pennsylvania, offering state-of-the-art facilities, pastoral settings, and easy access to cultural centers and countless self-enrichment activities. When it comes to retirement options, seniors truly have a friend in Pennsylvania.

Barley Snyder’s Senior Living Industry Group provides our clients with the legal resources necessary to serve this special and growing population. The firm has pooled together its tremendous depth of experience in serving senior living communities, including real estate, mergers/acquisitions, financing, regulatory compliance/licensing, corporate governance, employment and other senior living matters. Barley Snyder represents CCRCs/life plan communities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, personal care homes, home/health care agencies, post-acute rehabilitation facilities, health care providers and other clients that are shaping the future of senior living across Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic region. Our transactional and real estate teams have experience in helping existing and planned senior living communities so that they can expand and meet the growing demand. Our health care attorneys  are highly experienced in navigating the increasing complex regulatory environment for continuing and long term care, including: assisted living, personal and skilled care, home/health care and other resident services. Our firm’s employment area has significant experience with labor negotiations, regulatory compliance, immigration, employee benefits and policies, as well as day-to-day employment issues and disputes.

The demand for senior living will undoubtedly grow at a rapid pace during the next decade, and Barley Snyder’s team is dedicated to providing the highest level of service to our senior living clients.

Through the years, we have helped more than 75 senior living organizations with their legal needs, including:

Business and Real Estate

• Mergers and acquisitions, both buyers and sellers, and nonprofit restructuring
• Land use, planning and development
• Real estate, as well as facility construction and permitting
• Financing and leasing, including tax-exempt financing
• Corporate governance and tax planning
• Contracts for information technology, dining and other vendor services and systems

Health Care and Regulatory

• Federal/state regulatory compliance and licensing
• False Claims Act liability
• Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute compliance
• Medicare, Medicaid and third-party payor contracting and reimbursement
• Affordable Care Act initiatives including accountable care organizations, bundled payment arrangements and other alternative payment arrangements
• HIPAA/HITECH compliance
• Resident agreements, assisted living, home care and other resident services
• GPO arrangements and contracting

Employment/Benefits/Labor:

• General counseling of employers on issues stemming from hiring, discipline, termination, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) compliance
• Policy review, including review of employee handbooks and manuals, substance abuse testing, electronic communications, document retention and other areas
• Workforce reductions and separation agreements
• Wage and hour compliance, including compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage payment and collection laws
• Compliance with military leave laws
• Union avoidance
• Grievance arbitrations
• Affirmative Action plans and OFCCP audits
• Audits of employment practices
• I-9 and immigration matters
• Workers’ Compensation
• Unemployment Compensation
• Employee health and welfare benefit plan issues
• All aspects of employee benefits and ERISA compliance, including the design and implementation of retirement and welfare benefit plans

Intellectual Property

• IT system/licensing, including electronic health record security requirements
• Servicemark/tradename registration and infringement actions
• Data breach reporting and notification

Litigation

• Resident and commercial litigation matters
• Guardianship hearings
• Government investigations and enforcement actions
• Insurance and risk management counseling

Finance/Tax

• Tax-advantaged financings, including publicly sold bonds and privately negotiated transactions with financial institutions
• Relationship with local and national underwriters and financial advisors
• Structuring to maximize bank-qualification eligibility/refunding opportunities
• Advice regarding interest rate swaps and other interest rate management products
• Tax assessment appeals

Our Senior Living Industry Group utilizes client teams, providing each client with the skills and experience best suited to represent them. To discuss the future of the senior living industry and our services, please contact group chair Christopher Churchill or any of the attorneys in the group.