AARP Eye Center
Findings Show Nearly $2 Billion in Payments to Nursing Home Owners’ Private Companies from 2021–2023, Including $285 Million in Overpayments
Report Raises Concerns About Public Dollars Being Diverted for Private Profit
New Brunswick, NJ (June 6, 2025) — Today, AARP New Jersey released a white paper revealing widespread financial opacity and questionable spending practices in the state’s nursing home industry, which receives billions of dollars each year in taxpayer funding. The report, titled The Tangled Financial Web of New Jersey Nursing Homes, finds that from 2021 to 2023, nursing home owners in New Jersey paid nearly $2 billion to “related parties”—private companies they also own—while evading accountability for how those funds were spent.
The analysis, commissioned by AARP New Jersey and conducted by Full Financials, LLC, found that nearly $285 million of those payments were over and above what is considered “allowable costs” under federal standards. These overpayments raise serious questions about how public dollars intended for resident care are instead siphoned off for private profit.
This report clearly demonstrates how New Jersey taxpayers, nursing home residents, and their families are being left in the dark about how billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent,” said AARP New Jersey State Director Chris Widelo. “The lack of transparency and oversight in our state’s nursing home industry threatens the quality of care for some of our most vulnerable residents. We must shine a light on how these private companies are using public funds.
The report details how complex ownership structures—often involving private equity firms—allow nursing home operators to mask their true profits and inflate expenses through related-party transactions. These arrangements include charging themselves inflated fees for rent, dietary services, management, staffing, and more.
Among the report’s findings:
- 82% of New Jersey nursing homes reported payments to related parties in 2023—averaging over $2 million per facility.
- One facility in Middlesex County reported over $2.3 million annually in related-party payments while simultaneously underreporting its profitability by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- A Union County facility paid over $1.2 million for management services to a related company—over $500,000 of which exceeded allowable cost levels.
- A nonprofit Morris County facility with private equity ties reported $10 million in related-party payments in 2023, with nearly half classified as overpayments.
AARP New Jersey calls for swift action from state lawmakers to advance legislation S1948 (Vitale, McKnight)/A1872 (Speight, McCoy, Hall) requiring audited, consolidated financial reporting for nursing homes, including disclosures of all related-party transactions. Such legislation would help ensure that public funds are used to improve care for residents—not pad the profits of owners and investors.
The findings included in this report are deeply unsettling but too foreseeable. Many nursing home owners have long employed complex corporate tactics to hide the manner in which taxpayer funds are being spent, far too often on the backs of residents,” said Senator Joseph F. Vitale. “S1948 is about pulling back the curtain. By requiring consolidated and audited financial reports, we can hold individuals more effectively accountable, protect taxpayer funds, and, most importantly, place the health and dignity of the persons who call these institutions home first. I commend AARP for their leadership, activism, and commitment to reform and to transparency.
In recent years we have seen far too many instances of nursing homes cutting corners on care to increase profits, jeopardizing resident’s health and safety, said Senator Angela V. McKnight. Nursing homes owe it to residents, their families, and the taxpayers who subsidize their operations to disclose exactly who owns them and how they spend their money. This bill would provide more transparency from these facilities so we can root out abuse and ensure every resident is protected and supported by the place they call home.
Thank you to AARP New Jersey for highlighting this critical issue. We need greater visibility into how nursing homes are spending the taxpayer dollars that we give them to provide residents with quality care and a better quality of life,” said Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman. The nursing homes seem to get funding increases every year, yet we don’t see that translate into better lives for the residents. The transparency legislation would give us better tools to navigate the maze of nursing home owners and related companies to get a true sense of where the money goes.
AARP New Jersey and the Siena College Research Institute recently released a poll of New Jersey voters age 50 and over, finding strong, bipartisan support for increasing oversight of the nursing home industry, with 93% of Democrats and 89% of Republicans support legislation requiring nursing homes to disclose financial records so taxpayers can see how Medicaid funds are spent.
Older New Jerseyans are paying attention, and they are demanding stronger oversight of the nursing home industry,” Widelo added. “Lawmakers must pass legislation to ensure nursing home companies can no longer use secrecy and shell companies to enrich themselves at the expense of resident safety and care.
The full white paper is available HERE
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About AARP New Jersey
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. AARP New Jersey educates and advocates on behalf of those 50 and older on issues that are important to them, their families and to all Garden State residents. The organization works to strengthen New Jersey communities with a focus on health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/nj or follow @AARPNJ on social media.
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