The second-largest U.S. nursing home operator, HCR ManorCare, will file for chapter 11 protection in the coming days and transfer ownership to its landlord, Quality Care Properties Inc., the latest sign of distress in the senior housing industry, Reuters reported. Quality Care, a real estate investment trust, announced the agreement on Friday, saying that it would become the full owner of Toledo, Ohio-based ManorCare’s skilled nursing, assisted living, hospice and homecare businesses across the United States. Shares of Quality Care, which will give up its REIT status, jumped 23.4 percent to $15.55 on the New York Stock Exchange. HCR ManorCare had owed its landlord more than $300 million in rent, according to regulatory filings. It is one of several large U.S. nursing home chains that have struggled to keep up with rent payments due to changing Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements for nursing homes, rising costs and low occupancy rates.
