Senior Care Bankruptcies Rising Even As Healthcare Filings Decline 

The number of bankruptcy filings related to senior housing and care increased 18% last year, even as total health care bankruptcies fell 21% in that time.

Ch. 11 Bankruptcies stemming from independent living, assisted living, CCRCs and skilled nursing increased from filings in 2024 to 13 filings in 2025, according to a report by health care advisory firm Gibbins Advisors.

In the report, the company examined health care sector Chapter 11 filings from the start of 2019 through the end of 2025 for companies with more than $10 million in liabilities.

Between 2019 and 2025, senior care companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 83 times, more than half of which held between $10 million and $50 million of liabilities. According to the report, that would place 2025 as among the more active bankruptcy years for the senior care sector, eclipsed only by 2019 and 2023, when there were 15 filings those years. Also last year, senior care bankruptcy filings exceeded pharmaceutical filings for the first time since 2021.

Senior care providers are still facing a “prolonged period of pressure” due to Medicaid cuts, coverage losses, payor issues and inflation.

Senior care led all health care sectors with seven reported Chapter 11 filings in the first quarter of last year, before moderating throughout the remainder of 2025, the report found.

Middle market companies, those with $10 million to $100 million in liabilities, made up two-thirds of health care bankruptcy filings last year, an increase of 60% in 2024. Large health care companies, those with over $500 million in liabilities, declined to six cases in 2025 from nine in 2024.

Health care organizations are preparing for the impact of Medicaid spending cuts outlined in the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” which was approved by Congress in July of last year. At the same time, care is shifting from traditional hospital settings toward outpatient, community and home-based options. This will require organizations to invest capital, talent and technology into remaining competitive in today’s health care landscape.

Genesis Healthcare, which operated 175 nursing homes across 40 states, filed for Chapter 11 protection in July of last year. Senior Housing News sister publication Skilled Nursing News reported in December of last year that an affiliate of Pima Capital Partners had submitted the winning bid in the proceeding bankruptcy auction to purchase Genesis for $40 million in cash and assume all liabilities.

In April of 2025, Pacifica Senior Living, a management platform under Pacifica Companies filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. Later in the year, Inspired Healthcare Capital shuttered Volante Senior Living and moved communities to other operators. In 2026, senior living operators are also still taking on distressed properties with turnaround strategies as M&A continues to drive how investors grow as development remains muted at historic lows.

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