Steep room and board price hike dismays Missoula senior facility residents (2024)

A group of older residents on fixed incomes at The Village Senior Residence in Missoula were shocked recently at being given roughly 8% increases in their room and board. The hike equates to between an extra approximately $3,600 to $4,800 a year for many of them.

The Missoulian spoke with three residents and one concerned employee of the senior living community and all asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.

The facility is comprised of 99 apartment homes in categories of independent living, assisted living and memory care. It’s located at 2815 Old Fort Road near Community Medical Center. Residents are served three meals a day if they so choose and get weekly housekeeping services along with many other services, depending on need. The facility includes a library and a salon. A studio apartment can cost around $3,800 a month, and a two-bedroom apartment with assisted living services can cost well over $6,000 a month. The facility was built in 1988 and is owned and managed by The Goodman Group, a privately held company with 64 properties across the U.S. that manages over 10,000 residents.

“Every year they increase the rent and it’s always around 3-4%, but this year it was higher,” said one resident. “We’re on fixed incomes and we’re not earning more money. And I’ve been talking to some people who said, ‘well, I’ve got three more years and then I’ll be broke.’ And I thought, well, you’ve got three years to live and then you have to die. It’s just scary.”

That person is now paying well over $1,250 more a month than they were paying a few years ago.

The situation at The Village is by no means unique to Missoula or Montana or the United States overall. A series published by the New York Times last year found that costs are escalating in assisted living facilities across the country.

Amy Rotenberg, a spokeswoman for The Village Senior Residence, confirmed that the room and board increase was 8% this year.

"So over a two-year period, we averaged a 7.5% increase in room and board," Rotenberg explained. "And over that same two-year period, our expenses grew by more than 12% each year. The majority of that was wages. Our wages went up by 30%."

Rotenberg said that the cost of labor is an issue for senior care facilities across the country.

"The Village does not use (outside agency) staff," she said. "We want to make sure our residents get the same caregivers every day, people they know and can trust. Most of our competitors use (agency) staff. So that is our biggest cost increase. And our insurance costs have gone up a lot. Insurance rates have gone up nationally because repair and maintenance costs have gone up, and those have gotten more expensive for insurance providers."

She noted that the group insurance costs for employees have gone up.

"Food prices have increased, as have utilities," Rotenberg said. "We have not wanted to make any decline in the quality of care, services and environment we provide to our residents. That's why we have had larger increases in room and board in the last two years."

Rotenberg noted that The Village is always between 95-98% occupied.

"So there's a very clear demand for the environment and services and care that we offer," she said. "We offer month-to-month agreements so that our residents can choose alternative housing that may better meet their needs with just a 30-day notice. We are also enrolled in the Medicaid waiver program so that if a resident runs out of assets and has been with us a few years we are able to keep them here."

Rotenberg said she believes the issue of escalating costs for labor and maintenance and insurance for elderly living facilities is a nationwide issue.

"It's affecting all our competitors, too," she said. "And the choices are, do you cut costs and therefore quality of care and services or continue to provide quality care, services and environment that the residents are seeking."

A market study conducted by The Goodman Group showed The Village "right in the middle of the pack for room and board" among competitors, she added.

Rotenberg said the management of The Village is always willing to get feedback from residents.

Many residents of the facility say they have no other options if they can’t stay at The Village Senior Residence. Montana hasthe oldest populationwest of the Mississippi River, according to census data, and the state has seen a drastic increase in housing prices over the last decade.

A few of the members of the resident council have drafted a letter to send to management and Missoula Aging Services.

“Village Senior Residence is a well-run facility with lots of activities, plenty of walking opportunities and a really nice and involved staff,” the letter states. “We like it here and want to stay, but we fear that if rates continue to increase so much as in recent years, we will be unable to pay our rents.”

Housing issues

Lisa Sheppard, the CEO of Missoula Aging Services, said her organization serves about 7,000 people a year with 20 different programs to support people aging at home. They also advocate for people living in assisted living facilities and nursing homes.

Sheppard said she can't speak to the situation at any specific facility, but she knows that rising room and board costs are an issue for many Montanans.

"We're definitely hearing really frequently from older adults that rising costs are having a huge impact, especially those costs related to housing," Sheppard explained.

The cost of housing also affects how much money people have to pay for health care and food, two things that are also getting more expensive.

"It's forcing older adults to make difficult choices and for some it's also jeopardizing their ability to remain independent," Sheppard said.

She noted that property taxes are a big issue for senior citizens in Montana who are on fixed incomes. Many elderly people in the state live in mobile homes, she noted, and large out-of-state private equity companies have been snapping up mobile home parks and raising lot rents.

"Older adults in mobile homes have a lot of difficulty with lot rents increasing or their community getting sold out from underneath them," Sheppard said.

She added that people who need support services, like care in an assisted living facility, are often on especially thin financial ground if costs keep going up.

"That is really out of reach for many, if not most, older adults if they have to privately pay for that," she said.

In the last session of the Montana Legislature, Sen. Becky Beard, R-Elliston, sponsored a bill that was aimed at providing inflation adjustments for nursing homes. It also would have revised complicated waiver programs for senior and long-term care facilities. That bill passed the Senate and the House but was vetoed by Gov. Greg Gianforte.

"As more Montanans elect to age in their homes and outside of an institution, I cannot support fiscally unsound legislation that undermines and ignores that personal decision," Gianforte wrote in his veto letter.

Beard is running again for the Legislature this fall, and she said if she wins she'll introduce a similar bill with some tweaks to see if she can get it signed into law.