Private pay

Definition

Families paying from their own funds, which is most of this trade because Medicaid rarely covers it.

Why It Matters

Private-pay revenue carries rates the operator sets and margins that hold, so a private-pay-heavy house prices above a Medicaid-dependent one at the same occupancy. Ask for the resident roster with rate and payer, and look at how long residents typically stay. The other half of the question is affordability: rates that have outrun what local families can pay show up later as slower move-ins rather than as a lower rate.