⁴As of 1995, 54 percent of U.S. nursing homes were owned by chains, a proportion that had increased from 41 percent in 1985 (Strahan 1997). This percentage is apparently holding fairly steady, with chain ownership at 55 percent in 1999. The ten largest chains controlled 19 percent of the facilities and 21 percent of the beds nationwide in 1999 (Vickery 2000).[Return to Text]