Pennant Group (PNTG) Risk Analysis

Our independent operating subsidiaries are subject to a variety of federal and state employment-related laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act which governs such matters as minimum wages, overtime and other working conditions, the Americans with Disabilities Act (the "ADA") and similar state laws that provide civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities in the context of employment, public accommodations and other areas, the National Labor Relations Act, regulations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, regulations of the OCR, regulations of state Attorneys General, family leave mandates and a variety of similar laws. Because labor represents a large portion of our operating costs, changes in federal and state employment-related laws and regulations could increase our cost of doing business. We also may be subject to employee-related claims such as wrongful discharge, discrimination or violation of equal employment law. Employment claims, such as wage and hour claims, frequently are the subject of class action lawsuits in many states in which our independent affiliates operate, including, for example, California.

Our independent operating subsidiaries must be licensed under applicable state law and, depending upon the type of operation, certified or approved as providers under the Medicare and/or Medicaid programs. In the process of acquiring or transferring operating assets, our operations must receive change of ownership approvals from state licensing agencies, Medicare and Medicaid, and third-party payors. If there are any delays in receiving regulatory approvals from the applicable federal, state or local government agencies, or from independent accreditation authorities that may be required by federal, state or local government agencies, or the inability to receive such approvals, such delays could result in delayed or lost reimbursement related to periods of service prior to the receipt of such approvals. As mentioned above, California legislatively prohibited the licensing of new hospices, and limited the transfer of existing licenses through January 1, 2027, and other states where we operate may introduce similar legislation in the future (see Licensure and CON). In 2024, CMS implemented a rule prohibiting Medicare-enrolled hospices from transferring a majority of ownership or engaging in any similar transaction more than once in a 36-month period. States, including Oregon, have also passed or proposed laws inhibiting the corporate ownership or management of health care entities.

We must incur the expense of complying with the federal Fair Housing Act and similar state laws, and applicable fire and safety regulations, building codes and other land use regulations and food licensing or certification requirements as they may be adopted by governmental agencies and bodies from time to time and the expense may be substantial. Changes to these laws may require us to close operations, limit occupancy, or make other costly changes.

As discussed under Item 1., Monitoring Compliance in our Operations, we have internal compliance policies and procedures, including ongoing monitoring and controls, pursuant to which we have identified, and may in the future identify, deficiencies in the assessment of and recordkeeping for patients and residents. We must accrue liabilities for claim costs and interest and repay any amounts due in normal course. Failure to refund overpayments within required time frames (as described in greater detail under Item 1., Government Regulation) could result in FCA liability and other penalties, fines, or sanctions. If future investigations ultimately result in findings of significant billing and reimbursement noncompliance, which require us to record significant additional provisions or remit payments, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We derived 48.4% of our revenue from the Medicare program for the year ended December 31, 2025, which is typical for our business. In addition, other payors may use published Medicare rates as a basis for reimbursements. The Medicare program and its reimbursement rates, caps, deductibles and rules are subject to frequent change for a variety of reasons, which is discussed in Item 1., Government Regulation. Budget pressures also frequently lead the federal government to reduce or limit reimbursement rates under Medicare, and to adjust when or how those reductions or limitations are implemented, including sometimes doing so retroactively. Additionally, Medicare payments can be delayed or denied (including retroactively) due to determinations that certain costs, services or providers are not covered. Accordingly, if Medicare reimbursement rates are reduced or fail to increase as quickly as our costs, if we do not realize an adequate percentage of billed Medicare charges, or if there are changes in the way these programs pay for services or what services or providers are covered, our business and results of operations would be adversely affected. CMS has also introduced in the past, and will likely introduce in the future, new payment models, such as value-based arrangements or payment models that look to numerous factors in order to issue full payment or determine the maximum amount payable, in markets in which we operate. Those models may depend on the formation of preferred provider relationships among payors and providers. Our operations may not successfully implement or adapt to these changes and our operations could be materially impacted.

We derived 13.1% of our revenue from Medicaid programs for the year ended December 31, 2025, which is typical for our business. Any budget reductions or funding restrictions, discontinuance or reduction of federal matching, change in payment methodology or delays in states in which we operate could adversely affect our net patient service revenue and profitability. Like Medicare payments, Medicaid payments can be delayed due to budgetary constraints of the state or state agencies responsible for making such payments, and Medicaid payments may be declined (including retroactively) due to determinations that certain costs, services or providers are not covered by the state Medicaid agency or its intermediary organizations. Additionally, in many states where we operate Medicaid benefits are administered through Medicaid Managed Care Organizations ("MCOs"), which are operated by private insurance companies. These MCOs may apply different, stricter standards for reimbursement and prior authorization of our services, which may further adversely affect our ability to be paid for our services. We can expect continuing cost containment pressures on Medicaid outlays, whether administered directly by a state program or through an MCO, for our services. Also, the OBBBA's enactment may result in significant impacts to how states fund their Medicaid programs, including who is eligible to participate, potentially resulting in significant and adverse effects on our revenues, financial condition, and operations.

Healthcare reform is a key political and legislative focal point. We cannot predict what effect legislative or regulatory changes (including, for instance, proposals for Medicare-for-All or public option insurers operated by one or more individual states), will have on our business, including the demand for our services or the amount of reimbursement available for those services. Such changes may impact the structure, organization, and priorities of the Department of Health and Human Services and its sub-agencies, including CMS. The full impact of the current presidential administration, outcomes of the mid-term elections in 2026, and the legislative consequences of those mid-term elections are not yet fully known for this industry, and our industry may be affected by the 2026 mid-term election outcomes. It is possible new laws may lower reimbursement or increase the cost of doing business and adversely affect our business.

We, like other companies in the healthcare industry, are required to comply with extensive and complex laws and regulations at the federal, state and local government levels as discussed in greater detail in Item 1., Government Regulation. These laws and regulations are subject to frequent and unpredictable change. If we fail to comply with these applicable laws and regulations, we could suffer civil or criminal penalties and other detrimental consequences, including denial of reimbursement, imposition of fines, temporary suspension of admission of new patients, suspension or decertification from the Medicaid and Medicare programs, restrictions on our ability to acquire new operations or expand or operate existing operations, the loss of our licenses to operate and the loss of our ability to participate in federal and state reimbursement programs. These laws and regulations are complex, and we do not always have the benefit of significant regulatory or judicial interpretation of these laws and regulations. Changing interpretations or enforcement of these laws and regulations could subject our current or past practices to allegations of impropriety or illegality or could require us to change our operations, equipment, personnel, services, capital expenditure programs and operating expenses.

Government authorities have increased the scope or number of inspections or surveys and the severity of consequent citations for alleged failure to comply with regulatory requirements. As discussed in Item 1., Government Regulation, from time to time in the ordinary course of business, we receive deficiency reports from state and federal regulatory bodies resulting from such inspections or surveys. Although most inspection deficiencies are resolved through an agreed-upon plan of corrective action, the reviewing agency typically has the authority to take further action against a licensed or certified operation, which could result in the imposition of fines and penalties, reports to the national practitioner data bank, imposition of a provisional or conditional license, suspension or revocation of a license, suspension of new admission or bed holds, loss of certification as a provider under state or federal healthcare programs or termination of the operations' payment relationships with those programs, or imposition of other sanctions, including criminal penalties. Furthermore, in some states, citations issued against one operation can affect other operations in the state, particularly where there is any element of common or affiliated ownership. Revocation of a license or decertification at a given operation could therefore impair our ability to obtain new licenses or to renew existing licenses at other operations, which may also trigger defaults or cross-defaults under our leases and our credit arrangements, or adversely affect our ability to operate in the future. If state or federal regulators were to determine, formally or otherwise, that one operation's regulatory history ought to impact another of our existing or prospective businesses, this could also increase costs, result in additional fines or penalties, result in increased scrutiny by state and federal survey agencies, and impact our expansion plans as well as our ongoing operations. In addition, from time to time, we may opt to voluntarily stop accepting new patients pending completion of a new state survey, to avoid straining staff and other resources while retraining staff, upgrading operating systems or making other operational improvements, all of which can impact our financial results.

Seventeen of our affiliated senior living communities are currently subject to regulatory agreements with HUD that give the Commissioner of HUD broad authority to have us replaced as the operator of those communities in the event that the Commissioner determines there are operational deficiencies at such communities under HUD regulations. Compliance with HUD's requirements can often be difficult because these requirements are not always consistent with the requirements of other federal and state agencies and, in some instances, may require us to make additional capital expenditures to meet HUD's heightened requirements. Appealing a failed inspection can be costly and time-consuming and, if we do not successfully remediate the failed inspection, we could be precluded from obtaining HUD financing in the future or we may encounter limitations or prohibitions on our operation of HUD-insured communities.