Within the last week, the Wall Street Journal has published two probative articles that seek to explore the financial viability of LPCs through the lens of recent (if rare) examples of insolvency or bankruptcies. Taken together, the articles lead readers through four well-known examples of LPCs that faced financial distress within the last four years, and, as a backdrop, attempt to inform readers on the financial innerworkings of the model. From here, the articles diverge significantly.
In the first article, the author offers a mostly fair and balanced review of how a consumer can best evaluate the financial viability of an LPC, and with reasonable accuracy, presents information gathered from a variety of sources. In the second article, a different author, whose focus is on bankruptcies in various fields, paints LPCs with a broad bush in her attempt to caution consumers on the vulnerabilities of specific, financially unstable communities. LeadingAge, among others, contributed extensively to conversations and information gathered for both articles; for the second article, LeadingAge is working with the WSJ to modify points in the article that misrepresent LPCs in an unfavorable light.
