Assisted Living & Shutdowns: What Every Owner Needs to Know
Nov 17, 2025
π¨ Shutdowns, Staffing & Seniors: Is Assisted Living in Trouble?
Are government shutdowns going to hurt assisted living? Short answer: not right away. But there are things you should watch and ways to get ready.π‘
Check out this video, too:
π° No Immediate Funding Cut — But Expect Slowdowns
Medicaid and Medicare are considered essential, so coverage for residents does not stop during a federal shutdown. That means residents who rely on Medicaid should not lose their benefits overnight.
Still — a shutdown can slow things down. Some government staff are furloughed. Paperwork and replies from agencies can take longer. β³ If you need a federal-level answer or a complicated approval, expect delays. For most day-to-day Medicaid questions (handled at the state level), things should keep moving.
β οΈ Where the Trouble Might Show Up
Even though funding keeps flowing, there are a few places a shutdown can cause trouble:
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Administrative slowdowns — Permits, federal questions, or special approvals may take longer.
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Family hesitation — Families may pause placing a loved one into care because they’re worried.
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Staffing shifts — Workers may feel uncertain and look for other jobs.
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Paused grants & training — Some outreach and education programs (non-essential) may be paused.
So — money likely keeps flowing, but speed and confidence can drop. That matters.
Why Assisted Living Is Less at Risk Than Other Health Fields
Assisted living is mostly run and paid for at the state level or by private pay. It isn’t as tied to federal programs as some other health sectors. That means less direct impact from a federal shutdown.
Also, assisted living focuses on personal care plans and local rules, which makes it more flexible and resident-focused. πΏ
π§ Plan A: Protect Your Cash Flow (Simple Steps)
Make sure your business can ride out bumps:
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πΈ Build a rainy-day fund. Put money aside for 30–90 days of expenses if you can.
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π Use a financial system. Profit First or other systems help you plan and save.
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π¦ Diversify your payer mix. Don’t rely only on Medicaid — mix private-pay and other sources.
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π§Ύ Track receivables. Make sure rent and care fees are collected on time.
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π Know your state rules. State agencies run Medicaid. Keep their contact info handy.
These steps help you make smart choices during uncertainty.
π₯ Staff Is Your Biggest Risk — and Your Biggest Asset
When things feel shaky, people move jobs. To keep staff:
π° Pay fairly. Small raises or bonuses go a long way.
π Make work easier. Little perks and clear schedules help.
π£οΈ Communicate clearly. Let staff know what’s happening and how you’ll handle changes.
π Hire smart. Post jobs on local boards and use the network you have.
Happy staff = happy residents. Protect your people.
π° Watch the Right Signals (Not the Politics)
Ignore social posts and hot takes. Track official notices and facts. Helpful actions:
π§π» Check your state health and Medicaid websites.
π Read official CMS or state memos if they release them.
β If confused, ask your state agency or an expert for clarification.
π€ Use neutral tools (AI summaries, for example) to digest long notices quickly.
Staying informed reduces fear and helps you act wisely.
Long-Term Moves That Make Your Business Tougher to Break
These things help whether shutdowns happen or not:
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Diversify resident sources. Mix private-pay and referral streams.
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Keep good insurance. Property, liability, and workers’ comp protect you.
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Keep good financial records. Lenders, partners, and staff want stability.
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Plan your hiring & payroll. Use a payroll vendor so payroll is consistent (and less stressful).
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Join a community. Networking with other owners helps when rules change.
These build resilience and reduce surprises.
π¬ Final Thought
A federal shutdown won’t suddenly stop resident care. But it can slow paperwork, create staffing worries, and make families hesitate. The good news: you can prepare. Solid finances, happy staff, and clear information are the best protections. π‘οΈ
If you want fast help getting these things in place, there are tools and communities that can guide you on the exact steps to make your assisted living business steady and strong. πͺ
π§Ύ Ready for Help?
π Download the free Business Plan Checklist to build a strong foundation.
πΌ Need hands-on coaching? Join the next Roadmap Challenge for step-by-step help and accountability.
Show full transcript π
Transcript
00:00:05
All right, everybody. How's it going? Um, welcome to Assisted Living Investing. Today, we're going to be talking about um assisted living. Is it facing a financial crisis, a crisis at all? Uh, because of the government shutdowns that are happening here in the United States, right? States right now. Uh, we're as of the recording of this, we're a little over a week. I think we're getting close to two weeks now into uh having that shutdown um be in place. And so I wanted to get into is is
00:00:33
this something that you need to worry about? Is it going to in affect the assisted living industry or not? Um so make sure you stick around for today's video as we talk through that with you and give you some answers here. Um hey, my name is Brandon Gustafson. I help first-time assisted living entrepreneurs launch their launch profitable, purpose-driven businesses in the first in the next 12 months, creating prosperity, purpose, and peace. Uh super excited to have you here with us on assisted living investing today on on
00:01:04
the channel, on the podcast uh today as we really dive into this and help you um make make some decisions about whether or not this is the right way for you to be going as you launch your assisted living business. So, with that, um, let's go ahead and talk about it. I am I'm shifting things around a little bit. I'm no longer going to share my screen. So, if somebody has like, uh, they love the the screen share, then make sure you're commenting down below. Otherwise, I think I'm just going to talk to you
00:01:31
and, uh, and and help you out through a lot of what you're experiencing as as you go through uh, just the the struggles of trying to launch your own assisted living business um, and and help you out um, just through all of this. So, let's get into it. Um the the I am I do have slides for me though. So the the short answer to all of this when it comes to assisted living and the government shutdown and what that's going to look like is um no. There's no immediate impact actually. And I know
00:02:04
there's a lot of people out there that that regardless of your political affiliations and political leanings and and what you think about uh what is happening with the government shutdown, um the reality of of the situation is when it comes to assisted living, there is no immediate impact. Not even with Medicaid. And that's the one that you would think that oh maybe that's the thing that that that's really going to hit it. And when it when it comes to Medicaid, and I'm going to focus on this
00:02:30
because that's really the only spot where you could see uh some kind of an impact uh in the industry here is Medicaid is actually funded through quarter 1 next like the beginning of the year in 2026. So um there it is deemed an essential program which the way that the government is shut down at this point is all non-essential um programs and non-essential um employees are are the piece that is shut down. government funding for things like Medicare and Medicaid um for military spending, those
00:03:06
things are deemed essential and so they continue to be funded um for for a period of time. So the those things and and because they are uh essential programs, the people that are still in those still working in those departments are are largely still working. the non-essential employees are not, but um the higher levels are still doing work there. So, the benefits in coverage, the benefits and the coverage for these residents that have Medicaid, it is still funded. Their coverage will not lapse. It will not pause. Um it will
00:03:43
working on the side of insurance. Um, and and knowing what that site is like, especially this time of year with open enrollment, it's going to be a lot of work for the people that are working in those things. Like, I I totally understand that. Um, it there's going to be a lot of work, but the the funding piece of it, the coverage for for residents that that are on Medicaid, that will not lapse during the government shutdown. So, that's good news, right? Um I would say though that even though the the the the government
00:04:14
shutdown um does not have an immediate impact on the industry, it does not mean that the shutdown will not cause administrative slowdowns, that it will not make it harder um or um take it longer to to work through things. So by no means am I saying that this is, you know, everything is is hunky dory. It's all everything's great. It's not going to be any problems. Um I do think that there will be some problems. Um but it's not going to be from a funding perspective. It will just be how long
00:04:45
does it take things to process um is what I would say. So what what you may end up experiencing is there would be slower agency um response times because of the furlows because the non-essential um employees are not there and so there's just more backlog um when it comes to responding. Now, I will also say this is a federal government shutdown. State governments, my understanding, are still operating and so you shouldn't see that with Medicaid because Medicaid is a state-run program. If you have a question to your Medicaid
00:05:19
program that they need to then take up to a federal level, um that could cause delays. But generally with this type of work, you're working only with the state government. So, you shouldn't even experience delays there. If you're in nursing homes or you're in a different area of of this world of senior living, um then you may experience that. If you're dealing specifically with Medicare, you may have something that takes longer. But Medicaid, no. So, if you're interested in learning a little
00:05:46
bit more about Medicaid and what that is, type in Medicaid down below. Uh because I have a few videos on Medicaid, but I'm happy to do more of those because I know Medicaid, Medicare, I'm throwing around government programs. They can be confusing. can be hard to know which one is applicable to me and how do they work and it's confusing. Um I totally get it. So if if that's something of interest to you, type in Medicaid down below. Um communication as well um with CMS which is the center for
00:06:13
um it's Medicare and Medicaid basically. Um I can't too many acronyms when it comes to healthcare and government programs. Um so communication with CMS and state partners that could take a little bit longer. Um, but those and I would say those non-essential outreach programs um are also going to potentially be paused. Um, so this would be um programs that um maybe they're they're doing education on things like diabetes or um or cardiac care or something like that. There there are
00:06:45
training programs that are largely funded by government grants and government programs. I actually worked for companies that um that are largely funded through those types of programs. the funding for those and the support of those types of programs that may not exist um may be shut down right now. Uh so those are things that that you need to be aware of and those are things that I I truly believe in. I think they're good. I've worked in those spaces before. I know the impact that it can
00:07:10
have on communities. Um so I'm not saying that those are that it's again all for that it's this isn't a a great situation. It's just saying that um the the core piece of running an assisted living business is not impacted when it comes to these shutdowns right now. So the there are I would say some indirect economics and staffing um concerns and impacts though when it comes to this. And by that, what I mean is, excuse me, you're going to inevit in inevitably have staff um staff members, you're
00:07:46
going to have families that could be looking to place their loved ones into facilities and because of the uncertainties or because they're they're not as familiar, they're not watching this video like you are, um to learn about how the government shutdowns are impacting the industry, they are uh it's giving them pause. They're they're not sure what to do. They're they're they are concerned and so they're not going to take action. They're going to quit their job in this industry and move to a
00:08:15
different job that's not as tied to government as as a healthcare job. They are going to push pause on looking for a facility. Um and they're going to just keep their loved one in their home while they wait for the government shutdown. Those are scenarios that I think could have a more direct impact on the industry as a whole. I I mean I don't know what will happen. This is politics. There's negotiations. There there's all kinds of stuff that's happening at higher levels. U for all we
00:08:45
know. The government could reopen tomorrow. Um it could be a few more weeks. Who knows what that that's like? I would say when it comes to long-term, is this going to impact the industry? Are people going to be so turned off by the government shutdown and its potential impact on the healthcare industry that they're not going to use assisted living? No. people are still going to need assisted living. They're still going to use it. Um even if those programs were shut down and uh were in
00:09:11
2026 and the funding for Medicaid uh dries up, you could still work with private pay um individuals and still keep your beds full. So, um it's it's not going to have as big an impact. The thing with assisted living that uh that you should be aware of uh if you're not already is assisted living is not nearly as tied to government program funding when it comes to healthcare and it's doesn't have the oversight of uh the regulations that a lot of other areas in the healthcare industry have even in the
00:09:43
senior living and industry space. um you you do have regulations that you need to follow, but they are more at a state level than at a federal level. Um the funding is more at a state level um than it is at a federal level or it's more privatized. Um and that means that it's more specific. This is something I'd love about assisted living is you're able to be more specific in your care plans and how you are um working with your residents to meet their care needs more than you would be in other areas of
00:10:16
the healthcare industry. So it's something that personally having worked in the healthcare industry since 2015 201 however long it's been for me um how long has it been 2015 I think. Um anyways uh having having worked in the industry since then this is something that has always been a pain point for me when it comes to the healthcare industry is there's so much bloat and so much regulation and I would love if I could wave my magic wand snap my fingers and and make everything better um I would
00:10:51
take out a lot of the regulation and make it much more patient focused and that's something that I personally love about assisted living is we get to be more patient focused. There is not nearly as much oversight. Um I think the oversight that that we have in assisted living is a lot more appropriate. Um it is for the safety and care of the residents rather than mandating things and and having to worry about a bunch of um drug companies that are in it and medical device companies that are in it.
00:11:20
You are so much more focused on delivering the care that the resident needs and what their specific care plan is and meeting that. that that honestly that's that's one of the things that I love the most about assisted living is we get to have that type of impact with people. So um sorry I kind of went off on a tangent there. Um, but that's something that I I truly believe. And because of that and the disconnection there between government programs and um and and what we see with uh with
00:11:49
assisted living, um I I don't think there's nearly as much of of an impact as as you might see um with other areas of the healthcare industry. So that's something I just want to be up upfront with you. I would also say that there could be impact potential for um inflation to to to impact some of this and that could increase costs as well. Um but I don't know that that's necessarily because of the government shutdown. That could just be because of the world that we live in and inflation
00:12:20
uh is increasing. Um so uh that that's what I would say there. As far as um running the business though, what I what I would tell you is that it's still extremely important for you to be spending time and making plans to be financially prepared for whatever is coming up. Um so you should be um you should have a financial management system in place. I I love Profit First by M Mike Mallowitz. I'll try to link that down below for you on on the YouTube page um and in the podcast so you can go get access to
00:12:58
that. But um having a financial management system either whether profit first by Mike Mallowitz or um how to grow your small business by Donald Miller has another great financial management system inside of his book. uh regardless of what you do, you should be having that type of a thing in there so you can have a rainy day fund um that's going to allow you to weather the storms. Uh if you were to uh not be able to get Medicaid payments um for a period of time or or something like that, you're allowing yourself to uh put money
00:13:30
into savings. And when that happens, it frees you up to make better decisions and to weather this some of these more financially impactful storms as you get into it. Um, I'd encourage you also to diversify your payer mix. Um, don't put all your eggs in the basket of Medicaid. Um, kind of mix that up. I I think it's good to to have a bit of a mixture there. um and and allow you to to work with different types of residents and through that diversification uh opens up more doors for you to make sure that you
00:14:04
have money flowing into your business on a regular basis. Um and then I would also just in preparation for all of these things, make sure you're looking at at the state rules and any federal mandates that come out that could impact the industry. um you want to be paying attention to those things because having that information is going to reduce the fear that comes from it um from from working in this industry. Uh that I mean some of you may have not even thought about how government shutdown could
00:14:34
impact this industry until you saw this video. Um but being able to stay up to date on the industry I think is is really important. um try to pull out the politics of it and look at just the pure news and the the official documents that come out uh is what I would also encourage you to do because it's so easy to get caught up in in the politics of what people are saying about a certain thing and it's it's just it's better for your mental health to just stay out of that and look at the pure um notices
00:15:05
that come what the actual things say and then even just like throwing that into AI to interpret it for you. um so you get an unbiased uh view of what is going on. And those are the types of things that I think will benefit you quite a bit in helping you prepare for these types of roadblocks when they do come up. Um just make sure that you're you're looking through all of that and that you feel comfortable with with whatever you have going on. So we talked about quite a bit today um in in in this video. Um
00:15:34
ultimately when it comes to the government shutdowns um there's no immediate impact on the industry uh which is great. I would say there's potential for some possible um administrative slowdowns when it comes to working with government agencies, but you're really going to see that if you're trying to get your facility license for the first time. Um but those are already that can already take a long time and I don't know that this is going to have that big of an impact there or
00:15:59
if you have questions that need to go up around things like Medicaid. Um that could have an impact on it. Um I I would say that uh there could be some indirect um economic and and staffing concerns that you should be aware of. And also um preparing for the long term. Um and making sure you have good sound practice business practices as you're running your business is is important. Um and so if you found this video, make sure you like the video, subscribe, ring the bell as well so you get notified every time
00:16:26
we put out content like this. We go live on Tuesdays and we put out content on Thursdays as well. Uh the other thing I wanted to say is we're doing our roadmap challenge this week. Uh so if you missed signing up for that um is it's been so much fun to work through it. We went through we went deep into uh kind of how finances work and how you can underwrite something today. Um and I I could see some light bulbs going off in people's eyes uh as we did that and that was a lot of fun. Um it's too late for you to
00:16:54
jump into this challenge but we do have one coming up again here in a couple of weeks. So, if you go to roadmapchallenge.com, you can go check out exactly what we're going to be talking about. Um, it has been a blast. I'm super excited to continue doing those on a regular basis uh to help you out. Like, it is it it's not a sales like a sales environment at all. Uh, it is something where I am in here. I'm I'm I'm there coaching you, helping you uh transform and make progress towards launching your assisted
00:17:24
living business. Uh, it's a ton of fun. I would love to have you on there as well. Uh and and help you get through some of the struggles that you're getting into. Uh and our VIP sessions are just Q&A and we have a really small group this time. So it is a lot of like we were going through a floor plan of somebody uh today in in our VIP session. So like it is granular. It is specific to you and the things that you are trying to to work through. So I'd love to have you on our next challenge. Go
00:17:52
check that out at roadmapchallenge.com. Uh we're doing one. It's in this next one will start in November. I'd love to have you there and we'll do another one in January. Uh if you don't make the one in in November, so I'd love to have you on there. Make sure you go check that out. And if you need some help and some guidance as you're moving through things, um go check out my book. Um go to the alibook.com. It's the the book is called The Profitable Assisted Living Facility. You
00:18:17
can also get it on Amazon. I would love, excuse me, I would love for you to have that book. There's a bunch of bonuses there in the back of it um that can help you out along your journey. It goes through my five-phase process of launching an assisted living business, which is foundation first, optimal property selection, capital and funding, uh understanding the rules and regulations, and having a strategic launch. When you go and follow that focus framework, it makes it so much easier for you to successfully launch an
00:18:44
assisted living business. So, make sure you go check that out. Again, it's thebook.com. would love to have you check that out and help you out with that if you can't fit the the challenge into your budget. Um, which it's super affordable by the way, but I'd love to have you there. Regardless, thank you for watching. I appreciate you being here. Um, make sure you again like the video, subscribe, ring the bell so you get notified every time we put out content like this. Does are you curious about assisted living,
00:19:09
but you're not sure how to get started? I help at assisted living investing. I help first-time assisted living entrepreneurs launch profitable, purpose-driven businesses in the next 12 months, creating prosperity, purpose, and peace in their lives. It's one of my f favorite things to do. That's why we do the challenge. Again, roadmapchallenge.com. Um, but also, I want to remind you that it doesn't take a lot, just a little bit. Just keep going step by step by step. And I promise you, if you do, and
00:19:33
you are consistent and persistent, you're going to be successful. Thank you for watching, and have a great day.
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