Carlyle Group is letting go of financially troubled HCR ManorCare

The Carlyle Group is letting go of HCR ManorCare after learning the nursing home chain defaulted on $380 million in senior loans, according to the New York Post.

In a move that would avoid bankruptcy for one of the nation's largest nursing home chains, the Carlyle Group is reportedly ready to hand over HCR ManorCare to Quality Care Properties, a real estate investment trust, according to The Blade.

Quality Care Properties, HCR's landlord, is owed hundreds of millions in back rent, the report said.

Two years ago the Department of Justice said it was investigating HCR ManorCare for allegedly exerting pressure on skilled nursing facility administrators and rehabilitation therapists to perform unnecessary services on patients in order to collect additional Medicare and Tricare payment, the DOJ said in 2015.

[Also: Skilled nursing chain HCR ManorCare charged with Medicare fraud]

Patients were kept in facilities even though they were medically ready to be discharged, the DOJ said.

Skilled nursing facility managers and therapists were threatened with discharge if they did not administer the additional treatments necessary to qualify for the highest Medicare payments, according to the complaint.

[Also: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services adjusts payment policies for inpatient rehab, skilled nursing and hospice]

The Carlyle Group has owned HCR for 10 years. HCR ManorCare in Toledo, Ohio, runs about 281 skilled nursing facilities in 30 states.
 

Twitter: @SusanJMorse