NHI US Equity☆

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

There are many significant factors that could materially adversely impact our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, distributions and stock price. The following are risks we believe are material to our stockholders. There may be additional risks and uncertainties that we have not presently identified or have not deemed material. Some of the following risk factors constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to “Forward Looking Statements” at the beginning of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Risk Related to COVID-19

Actual or perceived risks associated with public health epidemics or outbreaks, such as the Coronavirus (“COVID-19”), have had and are expected to continue to have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact and is expected to continue to have a negative impact on the business and results of operations of the operators of our properties and on the Company. Although vaccines for the COVID-19 virus are widely available in the United States, COVID-19 cases remain high in some areas, and the disease continues to result in a significant number of hospitalizations. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, older adults and people with certain underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19.

Revenues for the operators of our properties are significantly impacted by occupancy. Building occupancy rates at several of our properties has decreased significantly because of COVID-19 as a result of early resident move-outs, our operators’ delays in accepting new residents due to quarantines or otherwise, and potential occupants’ postponement of moving to a senior housing facility. Such decreased occupancy is likely to continue in 2022. A decrease in occupancy or increase in costs is likely to have a material adverse effect on the ability of our operators to meet their financial and other contractual obligations to us, including the payment of rent, as well as on our results of operations. In addition, actions our operators take to address COVID-19 are expected to materially increase their operating costs, including costs related to enhanced health and safety precautions and increased retention and recruitment labor costs among other measures, which could have a material adverse effect on the ability of our operators to meet their financial and other contractual obligations to us, including the payment of rent. In some cases, we have had to, and may continue to have to, write-off unpaid rental payments, incur lease accounting charges due to the uncollectibility of rental payments and/or restructure our operators’ long-term rent obligations and may not be able to do so on terms that are as favorable to us as those currently in place. Furthermore, infections at our facilities could lead to material increases in litigation costs for which our operators, or possibly we, may be liable.

The federal, state and local governments have implemented or announced assistance programs in connection with COVID-19 that have benefited or in the future may benefit certain of our operators, but such government assistance may be insufficient to offset the downturn in business of our operators. In addition, federal and state governments and local health authorities continue to impose, or are re-imposing, measures intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to mitigate the burden on the healthcare system, but that could increase operating costs for our tenants and borrowers. For example, CMS issued an interim final rule in November 2021 that will require COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers, including hospitals and long term care facilities such as SNFs. This vaccine mandate may result in heightened labor challenges for our tenants and borrowers.

COVID-19 has also caused, and is likely to continue to cause, severe economic, market and other disruptions worldwide. We cannot assure you that conditions in the bank lending, capital and other financial markets will not continue to deteriorate as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, or that our access to capital and other sources of funding will not become constrained, which could adversely affect the availability and terms of future borrowings, renewals or refinancings. Such future constraints could increase our borrowing costs, which would make it more difficult or expensive to obtain additional financing or refinance existing obligations and commitments.

The impact of COVID-19 on our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition could adversely affect our ability to pay dividends at expected levels or at all. All dividends are made at the discretion of our Board of Directors in accordance with Maryland law and depend on our earnings, our financial condition, debt and equity capital available to us, our expectation of our future capital requirements and operating performance, restrictive covenants in our financial and other contractual arrangements, maintenance of our REIT qualification, restrictions under Maryland law and other factors as our Board of

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Directors may deem relevant from time to time. Our Board of Directors will continue to assess our dividend rate on an ongoing basis, as COVID-19 and related market conditions and our financial position continue to evolve.

The continuation of, or any increase in the severity of, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to continue to have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. The extent to which COVID-19 will continue to impact our business and results of operations will depend on future developments related to the pandemic, which continues to evolve. It is difficult to predict the duration and severity of the pandemic, including whether there will be increases in the number of COVID-19 cases where we have properties, the impact and efficacy of actions taken to contain COVID-19 and the acceptance and distribution of effective medical treatments and vaccines (including additional doses of vaccines).

Risks Related to Our Tenants and Borrowers

We depend on the operating success of our tenants and borrowers for collection of our lease and note payments.

Revenues for the operators of our properties are primarily driven by occupancy and Medicare, Medicaid and private payor reimbursement. Revenues from government reimbursement have, and may continue to, come under pressure due to reimbursement cuts resulting from federal and state budget shortfalls and constraints. Periods of weak economic growth in the U.S. which affect housing sales, investment returns and personal incomes may adversely affect senior housing occupancy rates. An oversupply of senior housing real estate may also apply downward pressure to the occupancy rates our operators receive. Expenses for the facilities are driven by the costs of labor, food, utilities, taxes, insurance and rent or debt service. Liability insurance and staffing costs continue to increase for our operators. Historically low unemployment has created significant wage pressure for our operators. To the extent any decrease in revenues and/or any increase in operating expenses results in a property not generating enough cash to make scheduled payments to us, our revenues, net income and funds from operations would be adversely affected. Such events and circumstances would cause us to evaluate whether there was an impairment of the real estate or mortgage loan that should be charged to earnings. Such impairment would be measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeded its fair value. Consequently, we might be unable to maintain or increase our current dividend and the market price of our stock may decline.

We are exposed to the risk that our tenants and borrowers may become subject to bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings.

Although our lease agreements provide us the right to evict a tenant/operator and demand immediate payment of rent and exercise other remedies, and our mortgage loans provide us the right to terminate any funding obligations, demand immediate repayment of principal and unpaid interest, foreclose on the collateral and exercise other remedies, the bankruptcy laws afford certain rights to a party that has filed for bankruptcy or reorganization. A tenant or borrower in bankruptcy may be able to limit or delay our ability to collect unpaid rent in the case of a lease or to receive unpaid principal and/or interest in the case of a mortgage loan and to exercise other rights and remedies. For example, a lessee may reject its lease with us in a bankruptcy proceeding. In such a case, our claim against the lessee for unpaid and future rents would be limited by the statutory cap of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This statutory cap could be substantially less than the remaining rent owed under the lease, and any claim we have for unpaid rent might not be paid in full. In addition, a lessee may assert in a bankruptcy proceeding that its lease should be re-characterized as a financing agreement. If such a claim is successful, our rights and remedies as a lender, compared to a landlord, are generally more limited. We may be required to fund certain expenses (e.g. real estate taxes, maintenance and capital improvements) to preserve the value of a property, avoid the imposition of liens on a property and/or transition a property to a new tenant or borrower. In some instances, we have terminated our lease with a tenant and leased the facility to another tenant. In some of those situations, we provided working capital loans to, and limited indemnification of, the new tenant. If we cannot transition a leased facility to a new tenant, we may take possession of that property, which may expose us to certain successor liabilities. Should such events occur, our revenue and operating cash flow may be adversely affected.

Certain tenants in our portfolio account for a significant percentage of the rent we expect to generate from our portfolio, and the failure of any of these tenants to meet their obligations to us could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

The successful performance of our real estate investments is materially dependent on the financial stability of our tenants/operators. For the year ended December 31, 2021, approximately 41% of our total revenue is generated by three tenants, including Senior Living (17%), and NHC (12%) and Bickford (12%). As previously disclosed, on July 30, 2021, Welltower completed the acquisition of a portfolio of legacy Holiday properties from Fortress Investment Group and entered into a new agreement with Atria Senior Living to assume operations of the Holiday portfolio. These transactions resulted in a Welltower-controlled subsidiary becoming the tenant under our existing master lease for the NHI-owned Holiday real estate assets. We have received no rent due under the master lease for these facilities since the change in tenant ownership occurred. Accordingly, we will only recognize revenues from this tenant when cash is received. Rent due but uncollected and unrecognized for 2021,

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excluding penalties and interest, totaled $11.4 million. Payment defaults or a decline in the operating performance by these or other tenants/operators could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to pay expected dividends to our stockholders. In the event of a tenant default, we may experience delays in enforcing our rights as landlord and may incur substantial costs in protecting our investment and re-leasing our property. Further, we may not be able to re-lease the property for the rent previously received, or at all, or lease terminations may cause us to sell the property at a loss. The result of any of the foregoing risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

We are exposed to risks related to governmental regulations and payors, principally Medicare and Medicaid, and the effect of changes to government regulation or reimbursement rates on our tenants’ and borrowers’ business.

Our tenants and borrowers are subject to complex federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to governmental healthcare programs. See “Item 1. Business - Government Regulation.” Regulation of the healthcare industry generally has intensified over time both in the number and type of regulations and in the efforts to enforce those regulations. Federal, state and local laws and regulations affecting the healthcare industry include those relating to, among other things, licensure; certification and enrollment with government programs; facility operations; addition or expansion of facilities; services and equipment; allowable costs; the preparation and filing of cost reports; privacy and security of health related and other personal information; prices for services; quality of medical equipment and services; necessity and adequacy of medical care, patient rights, billing and coding for services and properly handling overpayments; maintenance of adequate records; relationships with physicians and other referrals sources and referral recipients; debt collection; communications with patients and consumers; interoperability; and information blocking. If our tenants and borrowers fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, they may be subject to liabilities including civil penalties, loss of facility licensure, exclusion from participation in the Medicare, Medicaid, and other government healthcare programs, civil lawsuits and criminal penalties. In addition, different interpretations or enforcement of, or changes to, applicable laws and regulations in the future could subject current or past practices to allegations of illegality or impropriety or could require our tenants and borrowers to make changes to their facilities, equipment, personnel, services, and operating expenses If the operations, cash flows or financial condition of our operators and tenants are materially adversely impacted by current or future government regulation, our revenue and operations may be adversely affected as well. More generally, if an operator or tenant defaults on its lease or loan with us, our ability to replace the operator or tenant may be delayed by federal, state, or local approval processes.

Our tenants’ and borrowers’ businesses are also affected by government and private payor reimbursement. Payments from government programs and private payors are subject to statutory and regulatory changes, retroactive rate adjustments, recovery of program overpayments or set-offs, administrative rulings, policy interpretations, payment or other delays by fiscal intermediaries, government funding restrictions (at a program level or with respect to specific facilities) and interruption or delays in payments due to any ongoing governmental investigations and audits at such facilities. In recent years, legislative and regulatory changes have resulted in limitations and reductions in payments for certain services under government programs. For example, as a result of federal deficit reduction initiatives, Medicare reimbursement is subject to automatic, across-the-board spending reductions known as sequestration. Several states face budgetary pressures that have resulted, and will likely continue to result, in reduced Medicaid funding, through such measures as tightening patient eligibility requirements, reducing coverage, and enrolling Medicaid recipients in managed care programs. In addition, CMS may implement changes through new or modified demonstration projects authorized pursuant to Medicaid waivers.

Any reductions in Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement could have an adverse effect on the financial operations of our borrowers and lessees who operate SNFs. Further, reductions in payments under government healthcare programs may negatively impact payments from private payors, as some private payors rely on government payment systems to determine payment rates. There can be no assurance that adequate reimbursement levels will continue to be available for services provided by any facility operator, whether the facility receives reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid or private payor sources. Significant limits on the scope of services reimbursed and on reimbursement rates and fees could have a material adverse effect on an operator’s liquidity, financial condition and results of operations, which could adversely affect the ability of an operator to meet its obligations to us.

More generally, the legislative and regulatory environment for healthcare products and services is dynamic, and Congress and certain state legislatures have considered or enacted a large number of laws and regulations intended to make major changes in the healthcare system, including laws that affect how healthcare services are delivered and reimbursed. There is uncertainty with regard to whether, when and what health reform initiatives will be adopted in the future and the impact of such reform efforts on providers and other health care industry participants, including our tenants and borrowers.

We are exposed to the risk that the cash flows of our tenants and borrowers would be adversely affected by increased liability claims and liability insurance costs.

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ALF and SNF operators have experienced substantial increases in both the number and size of patient care liability claims in recent years, particularly in the states of Texas and Florida. As a result, general and professional liability costs have increased and may continue to increase. Nationwide, long-term care liability insurance rates are increasing because of large jury awards in states like Texas and Florida. Both Texas and Florida have now adopted SNF liability laws that modify or limit tort damages. Despite some of these reforms, the long-term care industry overall continues to experience very high general and professional liability costs. Insurance companies have responded to this claims crisis by severely restricting their capacity to write long-term care general and professional liability policies. No assurance can be given that the climate for long-term care general and professional liability insurance will improve in any of the foregoing states or any other states where the facility operators conduct business. Insurance companies may continue to reduce or stop writing general and professional liability policies for ALFs and SNFs. Thus, general and professional liability insurance coverage may be restricted, very costly or not available, which may adversely affect the facility operators’ future operations, cash flows and financial condition and may have a material adverse effect on the facility operators’ ability to meet their obligations to us.

We are exposed to the risk that we may not be fully indemnified by our lessees and borrowers against future litigation.

Our leases and notes require that the tenant/borrowers name us as an additional insured party on their insurance policies covering professional liability or personal injury claims. These instruments also require the tenant/borrower to indemnify and hold us harmless for all claims arising out of or incidental to the occupancy and use of each facility. We cannot give any assurance that these protective measures will completely eliminate any risk to us related to future litigation, the costs of which could have a material adverse impact on us.

We are subject to risks of damage from catastrophic weather and other natural or man-made disasters and the physical effects of climate change.

Natural and man-made disasters, including terrorist attacks and acts of nature such as hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, flooding and wildfires, may cause damage to our properties or business disruption to our tenants and borrowers. These adverse weather and natural or man-made events could cause substantial damage or loss to our properties which could exceed applicable property insurance coverage. Such events could also have a material adverse impact on our tenant’s operations and ability to meet its obligations to us. In the event of a loss in excess of insured limits, we could lose our capital invested in the affected property, as well as anticipated future revenue from that property. Any such loss could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition and results of operations.

Climate change may also have indirect effects on our business by increasing the cost of (or making unavailable) property insurance on terms we find acceptable. To the extent that significant changes in the climate occur in areas where our properties are located, we may experience more frequent extreme weather events which may result in physical damage to or a decrease in demand for properties located in these areas or affected by these conditions. In addition, changes in federal and state legislation and regulation on climate change could result in increased capital expenditures to improve the energy efficiency of our existing properties and could also require us to spend more on our new development properties without a corresponding increase in revenue. Should the impact of climate change be material in nature, including destruction of our properties, or occur for lengthy periods of time, our financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Business and Operations

We depend on the success of property development and construction activities, which may fail to achieve the operating results we expect.

When we decide to invest in the renovation of an existing property or in the development of a new property, we make assumptions about the future potential cash flows of that property. We estimate our return based on expected occupancy, rental rates and future capital costs. If our projections prove to be inaccurate due to increased capital costs, lower occupancy or other factors, our investment in that property may not generate the cash flow we expected. Recently developed properties may take longer than expected to achieve stabilized operating levels, if at all. To the extent such facilities fail to reach stabilized operating levels or achieve stabilization later than expected, it could materially adversely affect our tenants’ abilities to make payments to us under their leases and thus adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We are exposed to the risk that the illiquidity of real estate investments could impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties.

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Real estate investments are relatively illiquid and, therefore, our ability to quickly sell or exchange any of our properties in response to changes in economic and other conditions may be limited. All of our properties are "special purpose" properties that cannot be readily converted to general residential, retail or office use. Facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid must meet extensive program requirements, including physical plant and operational requirements. Transfers of operations of facilities are subject to regulatory approvals not required for transfers of other types of real estate. Thus, if the operation of any of our properties becomes unprofitable due to competition, age of improvements or other factors such that our lessee or borrower becomes unable to meet its obligations on the lease or mortgage loan, the liquidation value of the property may be less than the net book value or the amount owed on any related mortgage loan, because the property may not be readily adaptable to other uses. The sale of the property or the replacement of an operator that has defaulted on its lease or loan could also be delayed by the approval process of any federal, state or local agency necessary for the transfer of the property or the replacement of the operator with a new operator licensed to manage the facility. No assurances can be given that we will recognize full value for any property that we are required to sell for liquidity reasons. Should such events occur, our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.

We are exposed to risks associated with our investments in unconsolidated entities, including our lack of sole decision-making authority and our reliance on the financial condition of other interests.

Our investments in unconsolidated entities could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority regarding major decisions, our reliance on the financial condition of other interests, any disputes that may arise between us and other partners, and our exposure to potential losses from the actions of partners. Risks of dealing with parties outside NHI include limitations on unilateral major decisions opposed by other interests, the prospect of divergent goals of ownership including disputes regarding management, ownership or disposition of a property, or limitations on the transfer of our interests without the consent of our partners. Risks of the unconsolidated entity extend to areas in which the financial health of our partners may impact our plans. Our partners might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of required capital contributions, which may hinder significant action in the entity. We may disagree with our partners about decisions affecting a property or the entity itself, which could result in litigation or arbitration that increases our expenses, distracts our officers and directors and disrupts the day-to-day operations of the property, including by delaying important decisions until the dispute is resolved; and finally, we may suffer losses as a result of actions taken by our partners with respect to our investments.

We are subject to additional risks related to healthcare operations associated with our investments in unconsolidated entities, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Since January 31, 2020, we have an investment in an unconsolidated entity that is structured to be in compliance with RIDEA. As such, we are exposed to various operational risks with respect to those operating properties that may increase our costs or adversely affect our ability to increase revenues. These risks include fluctuations in resident occupancy, operating expenses, and economic conditions; competition; certification and inspection laws, regulations, and standards; the availability of and increases in cost of general and professional liability insurance coverage; litigation; federal, state and local taxes and regulations; costs associated with government investigations and enforcement actions; the availability and increases in cost of labor; and other risks applicable to any operating business. Any one or a combination of these factors may adversely affect our revenue and operations.

We are subject to risks associated with our joint venture investment with Life Care Services for Timber Ridge, an Entrance Fee CCRC, associated with Type A benefits offered to the residents of the joint venture's Entrance Fee community and related accounting requirements.

Effective January 31, 2020, we entered into a joint venture with Life Care Services (“LCS”) which consists of two parts, Timber Ridge PropCo, which owns the real estate and is owned 80% NHI and 20% LCS, and Timber Ridge OpCo, which operates the property and is owned 25% NHI and 75% LCS. Rents received from the Timber Ridge OpCo in the RIDEA structure are treated as qualifying rents from real property for REIT tax purposes only if (i) they are paid pursuant to a lease of a “qualified healthcare property” and (ii) the operator qualifies as an “eligible independent contractor,” as defined in the Internal Revenue Code. If either of these requirements are not satisfied, then the rents will not be qualifying rents.

As part of acquisition of the real estate, Timber Ridge PropCo accepted the property subject to trust liens previously granted to residents of Timber Ridge. Beginning in 2008, early residents of Timber Ridge executed loans to the then owner/operators backed by liens and entered into a Deed of Trust and Indenture of Trust (the “Deed and Indenture”) for the benefit of the trustee on behalf of all residents who made mortgage loans to the owner/operator in accordance with a resident agreement. The Deed and Indenture granted a security interest in the Timber Ridge property to secure the loans made by the early residents of the property. Subsequent to these early transactions, the practice was discontinued at Timber Ridge. Therefore, the remaining outstanding “old” loans made by the residents are still secured by a security interest in the Timber Ridge property. The trustee

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for all of the residents who made “old” loans in accordance with the resident agreements entered into a subordination agreement concurrent with Timber Ridge PropCo’s acquisition, pursuant to which the trustee acknowledged and confirmed that the security interests created under the Deed and Indenture were subordinate to any security interests granted in connection with the loan made by NHI to Timber Ridge PropCo. With the periodic settlement of some of the outstanding resident loans in the course of normal entrance-fee community operations by Timber Ridge OpCo, the balance owing on the Deed and Indenture at December 31, 2021 was $15.2 million. By terms of the resident loan assumption agreement, during the term of the lease (seven years with two renewal options), Timber Ridge OpCo is to indemnify Timber Ridge PropCo for any repayment by Timber Ridge PropCo of these liabilities under the guarantee. We cannot give any assurance that these protective measures will completely eliminate any risk to us related to claims under the Deed and Indenture.

As a result of the RIDEA structure, we have an investment in the operations of Timber Ridge. Timber Ridge is a Class A quality, Type A care CCRC. A Type A Entrance Fee community generally means the care of the resident is provided for upon payment of an entrance fee and thereafter payment of a monthly set service fee. The entrance fee is divided into a refundable and non-refundable portion depending upon the resident’s chosen contract program. The service fee is determined at the time of move-in into an IL unit and is subject to certain inflation-based adjustments regardless of the resident’s future care needs. A resident must move into an IL unit initially and not require care at the time of move-in. However, thereafter the resident’s care requirements from assisted living to memory care to skilled nursing are provided for. The refundable portion of the upfront entrance fee is recorded as a liability on the financial statements of the Timber Ridge OpCo. The non-refundable portion of the upfront entrance fee is recorded as deferred revenue and amortized over the actuarial life of the resident. We believe the structure of the joint venture does not require that the Timber Ridge OpCo’s financial statements be consolidated into NHI, but if we are unable to properly maintain that structure or become required for any reason to consolidate the Timber Ridge OpCo’s financial statements into ours, the results would have a material adverse impact on our financial results.

We may be exposed to operational risks with respect to our proposed Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (“SHOP”) structured communities.

We are in the process of transitioning 15 of our former Holiday properties to be SHOP structured communities with the structuring transactions expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022. If we develop SHOP structured communities we will be exposed to various operational risks that may increase our costs or adversely affect our ability to generate revenues. As the owner of a property under a SHOP structure, we would be ultimately responsible for all operational risks and other liabilities of the property, other than those arising out of certain actions by our operator, such as gross negligence or willful misconduct. Operational risks include, and our resulting revenues therefore would depend on, among other things: (i) occupancy rates; (ii) rental rates charged to residents; (iii) our operators’ reputations and ability to attract and retain residents; (iv) general economic conditions and market factors that impact seniors which may be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; (v) competition from other senior housing providers; (vi) compliance with federal, state, local and industry-regulated regulations and standards; (vii) litigation involving our properties or residents, including but not limited to litigation related to COVID-19; (viii) the availability and cost of general and professional liability insurance coverage or increases in insurance policy deductibles; and (ix) the ability to control operating expenses, which have increased, and may continue to increase, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the success of our SHOP structured communities will depend largely on our ability to establish and maintain good relationships with our operators. Although the SHOP structure is expected to give us certain oversight approval rights (e.g., budgets, material contracts, etc.) and the right to review operational and financial reporting information, our operators will be ultimately in control of the day-to-day business of the property. As a result, we will have limited rights to direct or influence the business or operations of our properties in the SHOP structure and we will depend on our operators to operate these properties in a manner that complies with applicable law, minimizes legal risk and maximizes the value of our investment. Failure by our operators to adequately manage these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

From time to time, disputes may arise between us and our operators regarding their performance or compliance with the terms of the agreements we have entered into with them , which in turn could adversely affect our results of operations. We will generally attempt to resolve any such disputes through discussions and negotiations; however, if we are unable to reach satisfactory results through discussions and negotiations, we may choose to terminate the applicable agreement, litigate the dispute or submit the matter to third-party dispute resolution, the outcome of which may be unfavorable to us.

In the event that any of the agreements with our operators are terminated, we can provide no assurances that we could find a replacement operator or that any replacement operator will be successful in operating our SHOP structured communities.

If our efforts to maintain the privacy and security of Company information are not successful, we could incur substantial costs and reputational damage, and could become subject to litigation and enforcement actions.

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Our business, like that of other REITs, involves the receipt, storage and transmission of information about our Company, our tenants and borrowers, and our employees, some of which is entrusted to third-party service providers and vendors. We also work with third-party service providers and vendors to provide technology, systems and services that we use in connection with the receipt, storage and transmission of this information.

Our information systems, and those of our third-party service providers and vendors, may be vulnerable to continually evolving cybersecurity risks. Unauthorized parties may attempt to gain access to these systems or our information through fraud or deception of our associates, third-party service providers or vendors. Hardware, software or applications we obtain from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture or other problems that could unexpectedly compromise information security. The methods used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems are also constantly changing and evolving and may be difficult to anticipate or detect for long periods of time. We have implemented and regularly review and update processes and procedures to protect against unauthorized access to or use of secured data and to prevent data loss. However, the ever-evolving threats mean we and our third-party service providers and vendors must continually evaluate and adapt our respective systems and processes, and there is no guarantee that they will be adequate to safeguard against all data security breaches or misuses of data. Any significant compromise or breach of our data security, whether external or internal, or misuse of our data, could result in significant costs, fines, lawsuits, and damage to our reputation. In addition, as the regulatory environment related to information security, data collection and use, and privacy becomes increasingly rigorous, with new and constantly changing requirements applicable to our business, compliance with those requirements could also result in significant additional costs.

We are exposed to risks related to environmental laws and the costs associated with liabilities related to hazardous substances.

Under various federal and state laws, owners or operators of real property may be required to respond to the release of hazardous substances on the property and may be held liable for property damage, personal injuries or penalties that result from environmental contamination. These laws also expose us to the possibility that we may become liable to reimburse the government for damages and costs it incurs in connection with the contamination. Generally, such liability attaches to a person based on the person’s relationship to the property. Our tenants or borrowers are primarily responsible for the condition of the property they occupy. Moreover, we review environmental site assessment of the properties that we purchase or encumber prior to taking an interest in them. Those assessments are designed to meet the “all appropriate inquiry” standard, which qualifies us for the innocent purchaser defense if environmental liabilities arise. Based upon such assessments, we do not believe that any of our properties are subject to material environmental contamination. However, environmental liabilities, including mold, may be present in our properties and we may incur costs to remediate contamination, which could have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition.

We depend on the success of our future acquisitions and investments.

We are exposed to the risk that our future acquisitions may not prove to be successful. We could encounter unanticipated difficulties and expenditures relating to any acquired properties, including contingent liabilities, and newly acquired properties might require significant attention of NHI’s management that would otherwise be devoted to our existing business. If we agree to provide construction funding to a borrower and the project is not completed, we may need to take steps to ensure completion of the project. Moreover, if we issue equity securities or incur additional debt, or both, to finance future acquisitions, it may reduce our per share financial results.

We depend on our ability to reinvest cash in real estate investments in a timely manner and on acceptable terms.

From time to time, we will have cash available from principal payments on our notes receivable and the sale of properties, including tenant purchase option exercises, under the terms of master leases or similar financial support arrangements. We must reinvest these proceeds, on a timely basis, in health care investments or in qualified short-term investments. We compete for real estate investments with a broad variety of potential investors. This competition for attractive investments may negatively affect our ability to make timely investments on terms acceptable to us. Delays in acquiring properties may negatively impact revenues and the amount of distributions to stockholders.

Competition for acquisitions may result in increased prices for properties.

We may face increased competition for acquisition opportunities from other well-capitalized investors, including publicly traded and privately held REITs, private real estate funds, partnerships and others. This may mean that we are unsuccessful in a potential acquisition of a desired property at acceptable prices or, even if we are able to acquire a desired property, competition from other real estate investors may significantly increase the purchase price.

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We are exposed to the risk that our assets may be subject to impairment charges.

As a REIT, a significant percentage of our assets is invested in real estate. We regularly evaluate our real estate investments and other assets for impairment indicators. The judgment regarding the existence of impairment indicators is based on factors such as market conditions, operator performance and legal structure. If we determine that a significant impairment has occurred, we would be required to make an adjustment to the net carrying value of the asset, which could have a material adverse effect on our reported results of operations in the period in which the impairment charge occurs.Such impairment charges may make it more difficult for us to meet the financial ratios in our indebtedness and may reduce the borrowing base, which may reduce the amounts of cash we would otherwise have available to pay expenses, make dividend distributions, service other indebtedness and operate our business.

In 2021, we recorded impairment charges totaling $51.8 million on ten properties of which two were sold during the year. In 2019, we recognized an impairment loss of $2.5 million on two properties.

Risks Related to Our Debt

We may need to refinance existing debt or incur additional debt in the future, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us.

We operate with a policy of incurring debt when, in the opinion of our Board of Directors, it is advisable. Currently, we believe that our current liquidity, availability under our unsecured credit facility, and our capacity to service additional debt will enable us to meet our obligations, including dividends, and continue to make investments in healthcare real estate. While we currently have a low debt ratio, in the future, we may increase our borrowings. In January 2021, we issued $400.0 million in public bonds. The proceeds of this offering were used primarily to pay down our unsecured credit facility and other debt obligations. As a result, as of January 31, 2022 we have approximately $1.3 billion in outstanding indebtedness and approximately $540.0 million available to draw under our unsecured revolving credit facility that matures August 2022. We also have $75.0 million outstanding under a term loan that matures August 2022. We may incur additional debt by borrowing under our unsecured credit facility, mortgaging properties we own and/or issuing debt securities in a public offering or in a private transaction. We believe we will be able to raise additional debt and equity capital at reasonable costs to refinance our existing indebtedness at or prior to its maturity. Our ability to raise reasonably priced capital is not guaranteed. We may be unable to raise reasonably priced capital because of reasons related to our business or for reasons beyond our control, such as market conditions. If our access to capital becomes limited, it could have an impact on our ability to refinance our debt obligations, fund dividend payments, acquire properties and fund acquisition activities.

We have covenants related to our indebtedness which impose certain operational limitations and a breach of those covenants could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The terms of our current indebtedness as well as debt instruments that the Company may enter into in the future are subject to customary financial and operational covenants. Among other things, these provisions require us to maintain certain financial ratios and minimum net worth and impose certain limits on our ability to incur indebtedness, create liens and make investments or acquisitions. Our continued ability to incur debt and operate our business is subject to compliance with these covenants, which limit operational flexibility. Breaches of these covenants could result in a default under applicable debt instruments, even if payment obligations are satisfied. Financial and other covenants that limit our operational flexibility, as well as defaults resulting from a breach of any of these covenants in our debt instruments, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Downgrades in our credit ratings could have a material adverse effect on our cost and availability of capital.

We plan to manage the Company to maintain a capital structure consistent with our current profile, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our current credit ratings. Moody's Investors Services (“Moody's”) announced on November 5, 2020 that it assigned an investment grade issuer credit rating and a senior unsecured debt rating of Baa3 with a “Negative” outlook to the Company. Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”) reaffirmed its BBB- and “Stable” outlook on the Company on December 9, 2021 and S&P Global Ratings (“S&P Global”) also reaffirmed its BBB- and “Stable” outlook on the Company at November 16, 2021. Any downgrades of ratings or changes to outlooks by any or all of the rating agencies could have a material adverse effect on our cost and availability of capital, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity, cash flows, the trading/redemption price of our securities and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to pay dividends and distributions to our equity holders.

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We depend on revenues derived mainly from fixed rate investments in real estate assets, while a portion of our debt used to finance those investments bears interest at variable rates.

Our business model assumes that we can earn a spread between the returns earned from our investments in real estate as compared to our cost of debt and/or equity capital. Current interest rates on our debt are at low levels, and, as a result, the spread and our profitability on our investments have been at high levels. We are exposed to interest rate risk in the potential for a narrowing of our spread and profitability if interest rates increase in the future. Certain of our debt obligations are floating rate obligations with interest rates that vary with the movement of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or other indexes. Our revenues are derived mainly from fixed rate investments in real estate assets. Although our leases generally contain escalating rent clauses that provide a partial hedge against interest rate fluctuations, if interest rates rise, our interest costs for our existing floating rate debt and any new debt we incur would also increase. This increasing cost of debt could reduce our profitability by increasing the cost of financing our existing portfolio and our investment activity. Rising interest rates could limit our ability to refinance existing debt upon maturity or cause us to pay higher rates upon refinancing. We manage a portion of our exposure to interest rate risk by accessing debt with staggered maturities and through the use of derivative instruments, such as interest rate swap agreements with major financial institutions. Increased interest rates may also negatively affect the market price of our common stock and increase the cost of new equity capital.

We are subject to risks related to changes in the method of determining LIBOR, or the replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate, which may adversely affect interest rates on our current or future indebtedness and may otherwise adversely affect our financial condition and result of operations.

In 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that after 2021 it would no longer compel banks to submit the rates required to calculate the LIBOR. This announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis cannot and will not be guaranteed after 2021. On March 5, 2021, the FCA announced USD LIBOR will no longer be published after June 30, 2023. We have a significant number of debt instruments with attributes that are dependent on LIBOR. The transition from LIBOR to an alternative reference rate could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Status as a REIT

We depend on the ability to continue to qualify for taxation as a REIT.

We intend to operate as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code and believe we have and will continue to operate in such a manner. Since REIT qualification requires us to meet a number of complex requirements, it is possible that we may fail to fulfill them. If we fail to qualify as a REIT:

•we will not be allowed a deduction for distributions to stockholders in computing our taxable income;

•we will be subject to corporate-level income tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate rates;

•we could be subject to increased state and local income taxes; and

•unless we are entitled to relief under relevant statutory provisions, we will be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which we fail to qualify as a REIT.

Because of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT could also impair our ability to expand our business and could materially adversely affect the value of our common stock. The present federal income tax treatment of REITs may be modified, possibly with retroactive effect, by legislative, judicial or administrative action at any time, which could affect the federal income tax treatment of an investment in us. The federal income tax rules dealing with REITs constantly are under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) and the U.S. Treasury Department, which results in statutory changes as well as frequent revisions to regulations and interpretations. Revisions in federal tax laws and interpretations thereof could affect or cause us to change our investments and commitments and affect the tax considerations of an investment in us.

Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive acquisition opportunities or liquidate otherwise attractive investments, which could materially hinder our performance.

To qualify as a REIT for U.S. Federal income tax purposes, we (and any subsidiary REIT of ours) must continually satisfy certain tests, including tests concerning the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders and the ownership of our stock. To meet these tests, we may be required to forego investments or acquisitions we might otherwise make. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may materially hinder our performance.

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We believe that the ownership and management of assets in our SHOP structures is in compliance with the REIT requirements; however; application of the REIT rules to such assets is complex, fact dependent and subject to interpretation. There can be no assurances that the IRS will agree with our characterization of these assets and if the IRS were to successfully contend that our SHOP structures do not meet the REIT requirements, all or a portion of the rent that we receive under these structures could be non-qualifying income for purposes of the REIT gross income tests. In such event we may be required to rely on the REIT savings provisions under the Internal Revenue Code, reorganize our SHOP structures, or take such other steps to avoid incurring non-qualifying income, any of which could be at a significant financial cost.

Our ownership of and relationship with any taxable REIT subsidiaries that we have formed or will form will be limited and a failure to comply with the limits would jeopardize our REIT status and may result in the application of a 100% excise tax.

A REIT may own up to 100% of the stock of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRSs”). A TRS may earn income that would not be qualifying income if earned directly by the parent REIT. Both the subsidiary and the REIT must jointly elect to treat the subsidiary as a TRS. A corporation (other than a REIT) of which a TRS directly or indirectly owns securities possessing more than 35% of the total voting power or total value of the outstanding securities of such corporation will automatically be treated as a TRS. Overall, no more than 20% of the value of a REIT’s total assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more TRSs. A domestic TRS will pay U.S. federal, state and local income tax at regular corporate rates on any income that it earns, but as a result of the enactment of the 2017 Tax Act, as modified by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act enacted in March 2020 (the “CARES Act”), net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of TRS losses arising in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020 may be deducted only to the extent of 80% of TRS taxable income in the carryforward year (computed without regard to the NOL deduction).

Rents received from a TRS in a RIDEA structure are treated as qualifying rents from real property for REIT tax purposes only if (i) they are paid pursuant to a lease of a “qualified healthcare property” and (ii) the operator qualifies as an “eligible independent contractor,” as defined in the Code. If either of these requirements is not satisfied, then the rents will not be qualifying rents. The Code also imposes a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s length basis. Any domestic TRS that we form will pay U.S. federal, state and local income tax on its taxable income, and its after-tax net income will be available for distribution to us but is not required to be distributed to us unless necessary to maintain our REIT qualification.

Legislative, regulatory, or administrative changes could adversely affect us or our security holders.

The tax laws or regulations governing REITs or the administrative interpretations thereof may be amended at any time. We cannot predict if or when any new or amended law, regulation, or administrative interpretation will be adopted, promulgated, or become effective, and any such change may apply retroactively. The last significant legislation affecting REITs came with the passage of The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, effective for tax years beginning in 2018. We and our security holders may be adversely affected by any new or amended law, regulation, or administrative interpretation.

Prospective investors are urged to consult with their tax advisors with respect to the status of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and any other regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on investment in our securities.

Risk Related to Our Organizational Structure

We have ownership limits in our charter with respect to our common stock and other classes of capital stock which may delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or might otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

Our charter, subject to certain exceptions, contains restrictions on the ownership and transfer of our common and preferred stock that are intended to assist us in preserving our qualification as a REIT. Our charter provides that any transfer that would cause NHI to be beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons or would cause NHI to be “closely held” under the Internal Revenue Code would be void, which, subject to certain exceptions, results in no person or entity being allowed to own, actually or constructively, more than 9.9% of the outstanding shares of our stock. Our Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, may exempt a proposed transferee from the ownership limit and such an exemption has been granted through Excepted Holder Agreements to members of the Carl E. Adams family. Based on the Excepted Holder Agreements currently outstanding, the individual ownership limit for all other stockholders is approximately 7.5%. Our charter gives our Board of Directors broad powers to prohibit and rescind any attempted transfer in violation of the ownership limits. These ownership limits may delay,

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defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or might otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

We are subject to certain provisions of Maryland law and our charter and bylaws that could hinder, delay or prevent a change in control transaction, even if the transaction involves a premium price for our common stock or our stockholders believe such transaction to be otherwise in their best interests.

The Maryland Business Combination Act provides that, unless exempted, a Maryland corporation may not engage in business combinations, including mergers, dispositions of 10% or more of its assets, issuances of shares of stock and other specified transactions with an “interested stockholder” or an affiliate of an interested stockholder for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder became an interested stockholder, and thereafter, unless specified criteria are met. An interested stockholder is generally a person owning or controlling, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting power of the outstanding stock of a Maryland corporation. Unless our Board of Directors takes action to exempt us, generally or with respect to certain transactions, from this statute in the future, the Maryland Business Combination Act will be applicable to business combinations between us and other persons. The Company’s charter and bylaws also contain certain provisions that could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or discouraging a third party from attempting to acquire, control of the Company. Such provisions could limit the price that certain investors might be willing to pay in the future for the common stock. These provisions include a staggered board of directors, blank check preferred stock, and the application of Maryland corporate law provisions on business combinations and control shares. The foregoing matters may, together or separately, have the effect of discouraging or making more difficult an acquisition or change of control of the Company.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.

Location SHO SNF HOSP Investment Rental Income

Corporate office 2,550 —

Rental income from properties sold and held for sale — 20,641

Escrow funds received from tenants for property operating expenses — 11,638

PROPERTIES ASSOCIATED WITH MORTGAGE LOAN INVESTMENTS ($ in thousands)

Mortgage

Location SHO SNF Investment Interest

Other non-mortgage income 8,400

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10-YEAR LEASE EXPIRATIONS

The following table provides additional information on our leases which are scheduled to expire based on the maturity date contained in the most recent lease agreement or extension.

Annualized Percentage of

Number Number Gross Rent** Annualized

Year of Properties of Units/Beds ($ in thousands) Gross Rent

**Annualized Gross Rent refers to the amount of lease revenue that our portfolio would have generated in 2021 if all leases were in effect for the twelve-month calendar year, regardless of the commencement date, maturity date, or renewals.

The above table does not reflect purchase options. See Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements for discussion of purchase options.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Our facilities are subject to claims and suits in the ordinary course of business. Our lessees and borrowers have indemnified, and are obligated to continue to indemnify us, against all liabilities arising from the operation of the facilities, and are further obligated to indemnify us against environmental or title problems affecting the real estate underlying such facilities. While there may be lawsuits pending against certain of the owners and/or lessees of the facilities, management believes that the ultimate resolution of all such pending proceedings will have no material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

East Lake Capital Management , LLC

In June 2018, East Lake Capital Management LLC and certain related entities, including SH-Regency Leasing, LLC (“Regency”) (for three assisted living facilities in Tennessee, Indiana and North Carolina), filed suit against NHI in Texas seeking injunctive and declaratory relief and unspecified monetary damages. NHI responded with counterclaims and filed motions requesting the immediate appointment of a receiver and for pre-judgment possession. Resulting from these claims and counterclaims, on December 6, 2018, the parties entered into an agreement resulting in Regency vacating the facilities in December 2018. On September 22, 2021, all parties entered into an agreement whereby NHI was entitled to receive $0.4 million to settle all claims for this matter. The settlement amount was received in December 2021 and recognized in “Other income” in the Consolidated Statement of Income for the year ended December 31, 2021. In addition, we had approximately $0.3 million in liabilities recorded related to the facilities subject to the litigation that was reversed and recognized in “Interest income and other” for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Welltower, Inc.

In June 2021, Welltower announced that it would acquire certain assets from the senior housing portfolio of Holiday Retirement (“Holiday”), a privately held senior living management company in which 17 senior living facilities were included in Holiday’s portfolio and are governed by a master lease originally executed between a Holiday subsidiary and NHI in 2013. We have received no rent due under the master lease for these facilities since this change in tenant ownership occurred.

On December 20, 2021, NHI and its subsidiaries NHI-REIT of Next House, LLC, Myrtle Beach Retirement Resident LLC, and Voorhees Retirement Residence LLC filed suit against Welltower, Inc., Welltower Victory II TRS LLC, and Well

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Churchill Leasehold Owner LLC (collectively the "Welltower Entities") in the Delaware Court of Chancery (Case No. 2021-1097-MTZ). In the litigation, we contend that the Welltower Entities have failed repeatedly to honor their legal obligations to NHI. In particular, we assert that the Welltower Entities acquired assets from a third party, Holiday Retirement, that included leases to NHI senior living facilities and fraudulently induced NHI to consent to the assignment of the leases, and then immediately failed to pay rent or provide a promised security agreement that was intended to secure against their default, all as part of an effort to pressure NHI to agree to new conditions outside the assignment agreement or force a sale of the properties to the Welltower Entities. The Litigation further asserts that the Welltower Entities currently owe unpaid contractual rent. Unpaid contractual rent, excluding penalties and interest, totaled $11.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not Applicable

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PART II.

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.

The Company’s charter contains certain provisions which are designed to ensure that the Company’s status as a REIT is protected for federal income tax purposes. One of the provisions ensures that any transfer (of shares) which would cause NHI to be beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons or would cause NHI to be “closely-held” under the Internal Revenue Code would be void which, subject to certain exceptions, result in no stockholder being allowed to own, either directly or indirectly pursuant to certain tax attribution rules, more than 9.9% of the Company’s common stock with the exception of prior agreements in 1991 which were confirmed in writing in 2008 with the Company’s founders Dr. Carl E. Adams and Jennie Mae Adams and their lineal descendants. Based on these agreements, the ownership limit for all other stockholders is approximately 7.5%. If a stockholder’s stock ownership exceeds the limit, then such shares over the limit become Excess Stock within the meaning in the Company’s charter and lose rights to vote and receive dividends in certain situations. Our charter gives our Board of Directors broad powers to prohibit and rescind any attempted transfer in violation of the ownership limits. In addition, W. Andrew Adams’ Excess Holder Agreement also provides that he will not own shares of stock in any tenant of the Company if such ownership would cause the Company to constructively own more than a 9.9% interest in such tenant. The purpose of these provisions is to protect the Company’s status as a REIT for tax purposes.

In order to qualify for the beneficial tax treatment accorded to a REIT, we must make distributions to holders of our common stock equal on an annual basis to at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (excluding net capital gains), as defined in the Internal Revenue Code. Cash available for distribution to our stockholders is primarily derived from rental payments received under our leases and from interest payments received on our notes. All distributions will be made by us at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on our cash flow and earnings, our financial condition, covenants contained in our financing documents and such other factors as the Board of Directors deems relevant. Our REIT taxable income is calculated without reference to our cash flow. Therefore, under certain circumstances, our required distributions may exceed the cash available for distribution.

Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NHI”. As of February 14, 2022, there were approximately 725 holders of record of shares and 62,242 beneficial owners of shares.

The Company’s outstanding stock incentive awards have been granted under two incentive compensation plans - the 2012 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2012 Plan”) and the 2019 Stock Incentive Plan (“the 2019 Plan”). These plans, as amended, have been approved by our stockholders. The following table provides information as of December 31, 2021 about our common stock that may be issued upon the exercise of options under our existing equity compensation plans.

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders — $— —

The following graph demonstrates the performance of the cumulative total return to the stockholders of our common stock during the previous five years in comparison to the cumulative total return on the MSCI US REIT Index and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index. The MSCI US REIT Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is comprised of Equity REIT securities. The MSCI US REIT Index includes securities with exposure to core real estate (e.g. residential and retail properties) as well as securities with exposure to other types of real estate (e.g. casinos, theaters).

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ITEM 6. RESERVED.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

The following discussion and analysis is based primarily on the consolidated financial statements of National Health Investors, Inc. for the periods presented and should be read together with the notes thereto contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Other important factors are identified in “Item 1. Business” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” above. This section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K generally discusses 2021 and 2020 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2021 and 2020. Discussions of 2019 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2020 and 2019 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Executive Overview

National Health Investors, Inc., established in 1991 as a Maryland corporation, is a self-managed REIT specializing in sale-leaseback, joint-venture, mortgage and mezzanine financing of need-driven and discretionary senior housing and medical facility investments. Our portfolio consists of real estate investments in independent living facilities, assisted living facilities, entrance-fee communities, senior living campuses, skilled nursing facilities and a specialty hospital. We fund our real estate investments primarily through: (1) operating cash flow, (2) debt offerings, including bank lines of credit and term debt, both unsecured and secured, and (3) the sale of equity securities.

Portfolio

As of December 31, 2021, we had investments in real estate and mortgage and other notes receivable involving 212 facilities located in 33 states. These investments involve 136 senior housing properties, 75 skilled nursing facilities and one hospital, excluding ten properties classified to assets held for sale. These investments (excluding our corporate office of $2.6 million) consisted of properties with an original cost of approximately $2.9 billion, rented under primarily triple-net leases to 31 lessees, and $305.2 million aggregate carrying value of mortgage and other notes receivable, excluding an allowance for expected credit losses of $5.2 million, due from ten borrowers.

We classify all of the properties in our portfolio as either senior housing or medical properties. Because our leases represent different underlying revenue sources and result in differing risk profiles, we further classify our senior housing communities as either need-driven (assisted living and memory care communities and senior living campuses) or discretionary (independent living and entrance-fee communities.)

Senior Housing – Need-Driven includes assisted living and memory care communities (“ALF”) and senior living campuses (“SLC”) which primarily attract private payment for services from residents who require assistance with activities of daily living. Need-driven properties are subject to regulatory oversight.

Senior Housing – Discretionary includes independent living (“ILF”) and entrance-fee communities (“EFC”) which primarily attract private payment for services from residents who are making the lifestyle choice of living in an age-restricted multi-family community that offers social programs, meals, housekeeping and in some cases access to healthcare services. Discretionary properties are subject to limited regulatory oversight. There is a correlation between demand for this type of community and the strength of the housing market.

Medical Facilities within our portfolio receive payment primarily from Medicare, Medicaid and health insurance. These properties include skilled nursing facilities (“SNF”) and specialty hospitals that attract patients who have a need for acute or complex medical attention, preventative medicine, or rehabilitation services. Medical properties are subject to state and federal regulatory oversight and, in the case of hospitals, Joint Commission accreditation.

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The following tables summarize our investments in real estate and mortgage and other notes receivable as of December 31, 2021 ($ in thousands):

Real Estate Properties Properties Beds Revenue % Total Investment

Senior Housing - Need-Driven

Senior Housing - Discretionary

Medical Facilities

Rental income From Properties Sold and Held for Sale 20,641

Escrow Funds Received From Tenants 11,638

Mortgage and Other Notes Receivable

Portfolio Summary1 Properties Revenue2 % Portfolio Investment

Portfolio by Operator Type

1 Excludes assets held for sale.

2 Excludes rental income from properties sold and held for sale and escrow funds received from tenants for property operating expenses.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, operators of facilities who provided 3% or more and collectively 72% of our total revenues were (parent company, in alphabetical order): Bickford Senior Living; Chancellor Health Care; Discovery Senior Living; Health Services Management; Holiday Retirement; Life Care Services; National HealthCare Corporation; Senior Living Communities; and The Ensign Group.

As of December 31, 2021, our average effective annualized rental income was $8,715 per bed for SNFs, $10,322 per unit for SLCs, $10,641 per unit for ALFs, $3,948 per unit for ILFs, $22,785 per unit for EFCs, and $63,899 per bed for hospital.

COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, the continually evolving pandemic has resulted in a widespread health crisis adversely affecting governments, businesses, and financial markets. The COVID-19 pandemic and related health and safety measures continue to impact the operations of many of the Company’s tenants, operators and borrowers. The federal government has provided economic assistance and other forms of assistance

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which mitigated to some extent the negative financial impact of the pandemic for certain of our tenants and operators who are eligible.

Revenues for the operators of our properties continue to be significantly impacted by occupancy. Building occupancy rates have been and may continue to be adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic if it continues to cause sustained negative trends such as early resident move-outs, delays in admitting new residents, or other collateral events. In addition, our operators may experience a material increase in their operating costs, including costs related to enhanced health and safety precautions and increased retention and recruitment labor costs among other measures. A decrease in occupancy or increase in costs could have a material adverse effect on the ability of our operators to meet their financial and other contractual obligations to us, including the payment of rent, as well as on our results of operations.

Throughout the pandemic to date, we have granted various rent concessions to tenants whose operations have been adversely affected by the pandemic. When applicable, we have elected not to apply the modification guidance under ASC Topic 842, Leases and have decided to account for the related concessions as variable lease payments, recorded as rental income when received. We will evaluate any rent deferral requests as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic on a tenant-by-tenant basis. The extent of future concessions we make as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have a material impact on our future operating results, cannot be reasonably or reliably projected by us at this time.

Our pandemic related rent concessions that will be accounted for as variable lease payments recognized upon cash receipt are shown in the following table ($ in thousands):

2021 Activity 2020 Activity Cumulative Totals

The majority of the deferred amounts noted in the table above accrue interest starting at 8% per annum under the terms of each tenant’s deferral agreement. Interest income is recorded when received.

In addition to the concessions noted above, we have agreed with Bickford to defer $4.0 million in contractual rent due for the first quarter of 2022. We have also reached agreement with three other tenants regarding additional rent deferrals of approximately $0.5 million for the first quarter of 2022. We anticipate some of our tenants may need additional rent deferrals to assist them with the ongoing impact of the pandemic on their operations. The timing and amount of any additional deferrals cannot yet be determined.

In 2021, we modified three leases with two operators that reset and reduced rental income by $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and will reduce the rental income by approximately $4.2 million for each of the next two years.

We had approximately $16.4 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on hand and $540.0 million in availability under our unsecured revolving credit facility as of January 31, 2022. Our unsecured revolving credit facility matures August 2022. See “Unsecured Bank Credit Facility” in “Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further discussion. In addition, we believe we continue to have access to additional debt sources and maintain availability under our at-the-market (“ATM”) equity issuance program and shelf registration statement to fund our future obligations, although no assurances can be made. We believe these liquidity sources position us to manage through the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further discussion.

See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information regarding the risks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Holiday Portfolio Update

At the beginning of 2021, we leased 26 ILFs to Holiday. On July 30, 2021, Welltower completed the acquisition of a portfolio of legacy Holiday properties from Fortress Investment Group and entered into a new agreement with Atria Senior Living to assume operations of the Holiday portfolio. These transactions resulted in a Welltower-controlled subsidiary

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becoming the tenant under our existing master lease for the NHI-owned Holiday real estate assets. In the third quarter of 2021, we sold nine of these properties for net proceeds of $119.7 million. As of December 31, 2021, we leased 16 ILFs, excluding one property classified as asset held for sale on our Consolidated Balance Sheet, with a net book value of $300.6 million. Rental income from our Holiday portfolio was $23.5 million in 2021 prior to the change in tenant ownership. Rental income was $40.7 million and $40.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

We have received no rent due under the master lease for these facilities since this change in tenant ownership. Accordingly, we have placed the tenant on cash basis and filed suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery (Case Number 2021-1097-MTZ) against Welltower, Inc. and certain subsidiaries for default under the master lease. Rent due but uncollected and unrecognized for the year ended December 31, 2021, excluding penalties and interest, totaled $11.4 million. As of December 31, 2021, we had a lease deposit of $8.8 million. See Note 8. Commitment and Contingencies in the consolidated financial statements for more details. We continue to explore all remedies available to us under the master lease and related agreements to execute a timely termination of the master lease and transition of the facilities to new operators or managers that will generate cash flows to the Company from our investments in these properties.

Critical Accounting Estimates

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These accounting principles require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, we reconsider and evaluate our estimates and assumptions.

We base our estimates on historical experience, current trends and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

We consider an accounting estimate or assumption critical if:

1.the nature of the estimates or assumptions is material due to the levels of subjectivity and judgment necessary to account for highly uncertain matters or the susceptibility of such matters to change; and

2.the impact of the estimates and assumptions on financial condition or operating performance is material.

If actual experience differs from the assumptions and other considerations used in estimating amounts reflected in our consolidated financial statements, the resulting changes could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations, liquidity and/or financial condition.

Our significant accounting policies are discussed in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements in this report. We believe the accounting estimates listed below are the most critical to fully understanding and evaluating our financial results, and require our most difficult, subjective or complex judgments.

Real Estate Properties

Real property we develop is recorded at cost, including the capitalization of interest during construction. The cost of real property investments we acquire is allocated to net tangible and identifiable intangible assets and liabilities based on their relative fair values. We make estimates as part of our allocation of the purchase price of acquisitions to the various components of the acquisition based upon the fair value of each component. For properties acquired in transactions accounted for as asset purchases, the purchase price, which includes transaction costs, is allocated based on the relative fair values of the assets and liabilities acquired. Cost includes the amount of contingent consideration, if any, deemed to be probable at the acquisition date. Contingent consideration is deemed to be probable to the extent that a significant reversal in amounts recognized is not likely to occur when the uncertainty associated with the contingent consideration is subsequently resolved. The most significant components of our allocations are typically the allocation of fair value to land, equipment, buildings and other improvements, and intangible assets and liabilities, if any. Our estimates of the values of these components will affect the amount of depreciation and amortization we record over the estimated useful life of the property acquired or the remaining lease term. While we believe our assumptions are reasonable, changes in these assumptions may have a material impact on our financial results. We do not believe there is a reasonable likelihood that there will be a material change in the future estimates or assumptions we use for real estate allocation.

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Impairments of Real Estate Properties

We evaluate the recoverability of the carrying values of our properties on a property-by-property basis. We review our properties for recoverability when events or circumstances, including significant physical changes in the property, significant adverse changes in general economic conditions, reclassification of the real estate properties as held for sale, or significant deterioration of the underlying cash flows of the property, indicate that the carrying amount of the property may not be recoverable. The need to recognize an impairment charge is based on estimated undiscounted future cash flows from a property compared to the carrying value of that property. Accordingly, management’s evaluation requires judgment to determine the existence of indicators of impairment, estimates of undiscounted cash flows. If recognition of an impairment charge is necessary, it is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the property exceeds the fair value of the property. Refer to Note 3. Real Estate Properties and Investments to our consolidated financial statements for more details.

There were no material changes in the accounting methodology we use to assess impairment loss during the year ended December 31, 2021. During 2021, we recorded impairment charges of approximately $45.9 million related to eight properties, of which seven of the properties were classified to assets held for sale and their carrying values reduced to estimated fair values less estimated transaction costs and $5.9 million related to two properties sold in 2021.

Lease Classification

Lease accounting standards require that, for purposes of lease classification, we assess whether the lease, by its terms, transfers substantially all of the fair value of the asset under lease. This consideration will drive accounting for the alternative classifications among either operating, sales-type, or direct financing types of leases. For classification purposes, we distinguish cash flows that follow under terms of the lease from those that will derive, subsequent to the lease, from the ultimate disposition or re-deployment of the asset. From this segregation of the sources of cash flow, we are able to establish whether the lease is, in essence, a sale or financing in its having transferred substantially all of the fair value of the leased asset. Accordingly, management’s projected residual values represent significant assumptions in our accounting for leases.

While we do not incorporate residual value guarantees in our lease provisions, the contractual structure of other provisions provides a basis for expectations of realizable value from our properties, upon expiration of their lease terms. Additionally, we consider historical, demographic and market trends in developing our estimates. For each new lease, we discount our estimate of unguaranteed residual value and include this amount along with the stream of lease payments (also discounted) called for in the lease. We assess the stream of lease payments and the value deriving from eventual return of our property to establish whether the lease payments themselves comprise a return of substantially all of the fair value of the property under lease. We do not use a “bright line” in considering what constitutes “substantially all of the fair value,” but we undertake a more focused assessment when the lease payments approach 90% of the composition of all future cash flows expected from the asset.

We do not believe there is a reasonable likelihood that there will be a material change in the future estimates or assumptions we use to assess lease classifications.

Allowance for Credit Losses

For our mortgage and other notes receivable, we evaluate the estimated collectability of contractual loan payments amid general economic conditions on the basis of a like-kind pooling of our loans. We estimate credit losses over the entire contractual term of the instrument from the date of initial recognition of that instrument. In developing our expectation of losses, we will consider financial assets that share similar risk characteristics such as rate, age, type, location and adequacy of collateral on a collective basis. Other note investments which do not share common features will continue to be evaluated on an instrument-by-instrument basis.

The determination of fair value and whether a shortfall in operating revenues or the existence of operating losses is indicative of a loss in value involves significant judgment. Our estimates consider all available evidence including, as appropriate, the present value of the expected future cash flows discounted at market rates, general economic conditions and trends, the duration of the fair value deficiency, and any other relevant factors. When an economic downturn whose duration is expected to span a year or more is encountered, such as the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we consider projections about an expected economic recovery before we conclude that evidence of impairment exists. While we believe that the carrying amounts of our notes receivable and other investments are realizable, it is possible that future events could require us to make significant adjustments or revisions to these estimates.

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While we believe our assumptions are reasonable, changes in these assumptions may have a material impact on our financial results. We review our assumptions and adjust these estimates accordingly on a quarterly basis. If our credit loss reserve at December 31, 2021 were to differ by 10%, the impact would be $0.5 million.

Investment Highlights

Since January 1, 2021, we have completed or announced the following real estate and note investments ($ in thousands):

Date Properties Asset Class Amount

Real Estate Investments

Note Investments

Montecito Medical Real Estate Q2 2021 — MEZZ 50,000

Vizion Health

In May 2021, we acquired a 64-bed specialty behavioral hospital located in Oklahoma for a total purchase price of $40.3 million, including $0.3 million in closing costs, and concurrently leased the hospital to an affiliate of Vizion Health. The 15-year master lease, which includes two five-year extension options, has an initial lease rate of 8.5% with fixed annual escalators of 2.5%. We have committed to additional funding of capital improvements for the hospital of up to $2.0 million which will be added to the lease base as funded. At December 31, 2021, no funds have been drawn.

In May 2021, we provided a $20.0 million, five-year loan to Vizion Health-Brookhaven, LLC to finance the acquisition of healthcare operations, including the real and personal property of a behavioral hospital we acquired discussed above. The loan requires monthly principal and interest payments and bears an initial annual interest rate of 8.5% with fixed annual escalators of 2.5% beginning June 1, 2022. Initial principal loan repayments are equal to 90% of the excess cash flow with a monthly minimum as defined in the agreement. Principal repayments are reduced to 50% of the excess cash flow once the outstanding loan balance is reduced below $15.0 million.

Navion Senior Solutions

In June 2021, we acquired a 48-unit assisted living and memory care community in Tennessee for a purchase price of $6.6 million, including closing costs of $0.1 million. The community was added to an existing master lease with Navion Senior Solutions (“Navion”) whose term was reset for 12 years, has a lease rate of 7.5% with fixed annual escalators of 2.5% and offers two optional extensions of five years each.

In May 2021, we provided a ten-year corporate loan to Navion for $3.6 million. The loan requires interest-only payments at an annual interest rate of 8% until June 1, 2024 and gives us first option to provide permanent development financing for a future project.

Montecito Medical Real Estate

In April 2021, the Company entered into a $50.0 million mezzanine loan and security agreement with Montecito Medical Real Estate for a new fund that will invest in medical real estate, including medical office buildings, throughout the United States. Amounts under the loan agreement will be funded as real estate investments are identified for acquisition. Borrowings under the loan agreement will bear interest at an annual rate of 9.5% and accrue an additional 2.5% in interest to be paid upon certain future events including repayments, sales of fund investments, and refinancings. Funds drawn in accordance with this agreement are required to be repaid on a per-investment basis five years from deployment of the funds for the applicable investment and includes two one-year extensions. At December 31, 2021, we had funded $12.3 million of our commitment that was used to acquire six medical related facilities for a combined purchase price of approximately $60.3 million.

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2022 Investment Activity

In January 2022, we entered into an agreement to fund a $28.5 million development loan with Encore to construct a 108-unit assisted living and memory care community in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. The four-year loan agreement has an annual interest rate of 8.5% and two one-year extensions. We have a purchase option on the property once it has stabilized.

Asset Dispositions

During the year ended December 31, 2021, we completed the following real estate dispositions as described below ($ in thousands):

1 includes straight-line rent and deferred lease intangibles

2 impairments are included in “Loan and realty losses” in our Consolidated Income Statement for the year ended December 31, 2021

Total rental income related to the disposed properties was $15.2 million, $26.6 million and $27.5 million for years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Reference Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements for more detail on dispositions.

Impairments of Real Estate

In 2021, we recorded $5.9 million in impairment charges on two properties that were sold during the year. We recorded impairment charges of $39.5 million on seven properties that were classified to assets held for sale during the year and $6.4 million on one transitioning property whose net carrying value prior to the impairment charge was determined not to be recoverable. In 2020, we had no significant intangible assets recorded on our balance sheet that required assessment for impairment. In 2019, we recognized an impairment loss of $2.5 million, related to the disposition of two Bickford properties located in Indiana.

Notes Receivable Repayment

During the year ended December 31, 2021, LCS-Westminster Partnership IV LLP, an affiliate of LCS, repaid the remaining principal of $61.2 million on its second note of two notes under a master credit agreement (“Note B”). As a result, we recognized the remaining Note B commitment fee of $0.4 million in “Interest income and other” during the year ended December 31, 2021. The balance on its first note (“Note A”) was $110.8 million as of December 31, 2021.

Tenant Purchase Options

Certain of our leases contain purchase options allowing tenants to acquire the leased properties. For options exercisable or exercisable in the near future, we are engaged in preliminary negotiations to continue as lessor or in some other capacity.

A summary of these tenant options is presented below ($ in thousands):

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Asset Number of Lease 1st Option Option Contractual

Type Properties Expiration Open Year Basis2 Rent

1 Included in assets held for sale on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2021.

2 Tenant purchase options generally give the lessee an option to purchase the underlying property for consideration determined by (i) greater of fixed base price or fair market value; (ii) a fixed base price plus a specified share in any appreciation; (iii) fixed base price; or (iv) a fixed capitalization rate on lease revenue.

In June 2021, we received notification of a tenant’s intention to acquire, pursuant to a purchase option, a hospital located in California. The purchase option calls for a minimum purchase price of $15.0 million with any appreciation above $15.0 million to be split evenly between the parties. The net investment at December 31, 2021 was $13.6 million and was classified in assets held for sale on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2021. Rental income was $1.9 million, for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The transaction will close no earlier than one year after the receipt of the notice of exercise.

We cannot reasonably estimate at this time the probability that any other purchase options will be exercised in the future. Consideration to be received from the exercise of any tenant purchase option is expected to exceed our net investment in the leased property or properties.

Other

Our leases are typically structured as “triple net leases” on single-tenant properties having an initial leasehold term of 10 to 15 years with one or more five-year renewal options. As such, there may be reporting periods in which we experience few, if any, lease renewals or expirations. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we did not have any significant renewing or expiring leases. Most of our existing leases contain annual escalators in rent payments. For financial statement purposes, rental income is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

Tenant Concentration

As discussed in more detail in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements, we have three lessees (including their affiliated entities, which are the legal tenants) from whom we individually derive at least 10% and collectively 40% of our rental income. NHC is a publicly traded company and we do not report specific occupancy information from them.

The following table summarizes the average portfolio occupancy for Senior Living Communities, Bickford and Holiday for the periods indicated, excluding development properties in operation less than 24 months, notes receivable, and properties transitioned to new operators or disposed.

1Prior period occupancies have been restated to include an additional building, in operation for at least 24-months, and the sale of six properties in the second quarter of 2021. Includes four properties classified as held for sale at December 31, 2021.

2Holiday occupancy for 17 properties is restated retroactively to reflect the sale of nine properties in the third quarter of 2021. Includes one property classified as held for sale at December 31, 2021.

Tenant Monitoring

Our operators report to us the results of their operations on a periodic basis, which we in turn subject to further analysis as a means of monitoring potential concerns within our portfolio. We have identified EBITDARM (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, rent and management fees) as a primary performance measure for our tenants, based on results they

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have reported to us. We believe EBITDARM is useful in our most fundamental analyses, as it is a property-level measure of our operators’ success, by eliminating the effects of the operator’s method of acquiring the use of its assets (interest and rent), its non-cash expenses (depreciation and amortization), expenses that are dependent on its level of success (income taxes), and also excluding the effect of the operator’s payment of its management fees, as typically those fees are contractually subordinate to our lease payment. For operators of our entrance-fee communities, our calculation of EBITDARM includes other cash flow adjustments typical of the industry which may include, but are not limited to, net cash flows from entrance fees; amortization of deferred entrance fees; adjustments for tenant rent obligations, depreciation and amortization; and management fee true-ups. The eliminations and adjustments reflect covenants in our leases and provide a comparable basis for assessing our various relationships.

We believe that EBITDARM is a useful way to analyze the cash potential of a group of assets. From EBITDARM we calculate a coverage ratio (EBITDARM/Cash Rent), measuring the ability of the operator to meet its monthly obligation. In addition to EBITDARM and the coverage ratio, we rely on a careful balance sheet analysis, and other analytical procedures to help us identify potential areas of concern relative to our operators’ ability to generate sufficient liquidity to meet their obligations, including their obligation to continue to pay the amount due to us. Typical among our operators is a varying lag in reporting to us the results of their operations. Across our portfolio, however, our operators report their results, typically within either 30 or 45 days and at the latest, within 90 days of month’s end. For computational purposes, we exclude mortgages and other notes receivable, development and lease-up properties that have been in operation less than 24 months. For stabilized acquisitions in the portfolio less than 24 months and renewing leases with changes in scheduled rent, we include pro forma cash rent. Same-store portfolio coverage excludes properties that have transitioned operators in the past 24 months or assets subsequently sold except as noted.

The results of our coverage ratio analysis are presented below on a trailing twelve-month basis, as of September 30, 2021 and 2020 (the most recent periods available). The tables exclude mortgages and other notes receivable, transitioned properties leased pursuant to cash flow-based leases, and development and lease up properties in operation less than 24 months. The tables include pro forma rents for stabilized acquisitions in the portfolio less than 24 months.

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NHI Total Portfolio

By asset type SHO SNF MEDICAL NON-SNF TOTAL

Major tenants NHC1 SLC Bickford Holiday

NHI Same-Store Portfolio2

By asset type SHO SNF MEDICAL NON-SNF TOTAL

Major tenants NHC 1 SLC Bickford Holiday

1 NHC based on corporate-level Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio and includes 3 independent living facilities.

2 Excludes properties that have transitioned operators in past 24 months.

These results include any amounts received and recognized by the operators from the HHS CARES Act Provider Relief Fund and funds received under the Paycheck Protection Program if the loan has been forgiven. Our operators may not consistently account for any COVID-19 pandemic relief funds received which can impact comparability among operators and across periods.

Fluctuations in portfolio coverage are a result of market and economic trends, local market competition, and regulatory factors as well as the operational success of our tenants. We use the results of individual leases to inform our decision making with respect to specific tenants, but trends described above by property type and operator bear analysis. Our senior housing portfolio shows a decline brought about primarily by a softening in occupancy and rising expenses, including wage pressures. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. has further softened coverage for these operators as well as across our portfolio. For many of the affected operators, as is typical of our portfolio in general, NHI has security deposits in place and/or

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corporate guarantees should actual cash rental shortfalls eventually materialize. In certain instances, our operators may increase their security deposits with us in an amount equal to the coverage shortfall, and, upon subsequent compliance with the required lease coverage ratio, the operator would then be entitled to a full refund. The sufficiency of credit enhancements (e.g. tenant deposits and guarantees) as a protection against economic downturn will be a focus as the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue.

Other Portfolio Activity

Tenant Transitioning

Nine properties were transitioned during 2019 to five new tenants following a period of non-compliance by the former operators. We recognized rental income from these nine properties of $3.0 million, $4.6 million and $3.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We recorded real estate impairment charges totaling $24.8 million in 2021 on four of the transition properties, of which three of the properties were classified to assets held for sale on our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2021, and one whose net carrying value prior to the impairment charge was determined not to be recoverable as noted in Investment Highlights.

The following table summarizes the transition properties during the year ended December 31, 2021:

Occupancy1

1 Monthly Average

2 Classified to Assets Held for Sale and recorded an impairment charge in 2021

3 Two Texas Properties reclassified to Assets Held for Sale and recorded an impairment charge in 2021

4 Recorded an impairment charge in 2021

Real Estate and Mortgage Write-downs

In addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our borrowers and tenants experience periods of significant financial pressures and difficulties similar to those encountered by other health care providers. Refer to Note 3. Real Estate Properties and Investments in the consolidated financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2020, we adopted ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, which broadened the information we must consider in developing our expected credit loss estimates to include forecasted economic information in addition to our historical experience. We have established a reserve for estimated credit losses of $5.2 million and a liability of $1.0 million for estimated credit losses on unfunded loan commitments as of December 31, 2021. We evaluate the reserves for estimated credit losses on a quarterly basis and make adjustments based on current circumstances as considered necessary.

We believe that the net carrying amounts of our real estate properties are recoverable and that mortgage and other notes receivable are realizable and supported by the value of the underlying collateral. However, it is possible that future events could require us to make additional significant adjustments to these carrying amounts.

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Results of Operations

The significant items affecting revenues and expenses are described below ($ in thousands):

Years Ended

December 31, Period Change

Revenues:

Rental income

HOSP leased to Vizion Health $ 2,034 $ — $ 2,034 NM

Interest income from mortgage and other notes

Total Interest Income from Mortgage and Other Notes 24,534 25,021 (487) (1.9) %

Expenses:

Depreciation

HOSP leased to Vizion Health 608 — 608 NM

Non-cash share-based compensation expense 8,415 3,062 5,353 NM

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NM - not meaningful

1 Formerly 41 Management

Financial highlights for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to 2020 were as follows:

•Rental income received from our tenants decreased $36.2 million, or 11.8%, primarily as a result of additional rent concessions granted for 2021 totaling $26.4 million, Holiday’s nonpayment of contractual rent, excluding penalties and interest, of $11.4 million and current year disposals and held for sale decrease of approximately $4.6 million, net of rental income of new investments funded since December 2020.

•Rental income includes a $5.8 million decrease in straight-line rent adjustments based on the timing and volume of entering into new leases and the overall rate of increase in existing leases and property dispositions in 2021.

•Funds received for reimbursement of property operating expenses totaled $11.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, and are reflected as a component of rental income. These property operating expenses are recognized in operating expenses in the line item “Taxes and insurance on leased properties.” The increase in the reimbursement income and corresponding property expenses is the result of additional amounts received from tenants and expenses paid on their behalf.

•Interest income from mortgage and other notes decreased $0.5 million or 1.9%, primarily due to net paydowns on loans.

•Other income increased $2.6 million primarily due to the recognition of a lease termination fee upon disposition of a property during 2021.

•Depreciation expense decreased $2.4 million or 2.8% primarily due to dispositions of real estate investments completed since December 2020.

•Interest expense decreased $2.1 million, or 3.9%, as a result of the convertible bond that matured in April 2021, the payoff of the HUD mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2020 and a net decrease in the borrowings on the unsecured credit facility.

•Non-cash share-based compensation expense increased $5.4 million from the same period one year ago. The Company’s stock option grants in the first quarter of 2021 had an increase in estimated fair value of $9.00 per option share compared to the first quarter of 2020 as determined using the Black-Scholes valuation model primarily from the increased volatility in the Company’s common stock price caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the Company granted 60,000 additional options in 2021 compared to 2020, of which 50,000 options relate to the two new directors added during 2020.

•Loan and realty losses increased $51.8 million primarily as a result of impairment charges on eight real estate properties and the disposal of two properties in 2021 as described under the heading “Assets Held for Sale and Impairments of Real Estate” in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements.

•Loss on early retirement of debt of $1.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, represents the remaining deferred financing costs expensed upon repayment of the $100.0 million term loan in January 2021 and the repayment of two Fannie Mae loans in the fourth quarter of 2021. The prior year amount represents the prepayment fee of $1.6

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million and unamortized discount and deferred financing cost of $1.2 million and $1.1 million, respectively, recognized on the repayment of ten HUD mortgages loans in 2020.

•Gains on sales of real estate increased $11.2 million, or 52.5%, for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in the prior year. For the year ended December 31,2021, we recorded $32.5 million in gains from dispositions of 22 real estate assets. Reference “Asset Dispositions” in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements for more information. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we disposed of a portfolio of eight assisted living properties to Brookdale Senior Living.

The following table summarizes our real estate under lease to transitioning tenants ($ in thousands):

Years Ended

December 31, Period Change

Revenues:

Rental income

SHOs leased to Chancellor Health Care1 $ — $ 850 $ (850) (100.0) %

SHO leased to Senior Living Communities 465 166 299 NM

SHO leased to Discovery Senior Living 179 62 117 NM

SLC leased to Vitality Senior Living1 6 273 (267) (97.8) %

ALF leased to BAKA Enterprises 750 780 (30) (3.8) %

Expenses:

Depreciation

SHO leased to Senior Living Communities 612 617 (5) (0.8) %

SHO leased to Discovery Senior Living 684 686 (2) (0.3) %

ALF leased to BAKA Enterprises 539 539 — — %

Franchise, excise and other taxes — 21 (21) (100.0) %

1 Included in assets held for sale

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

•As of December 31, 2021, we had $550.0 million available to draw on our revolving credit facility that matures in August 2022, see Unsecured Bank Credit Facility below for more discussion on the status of renewal, $37.4 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, and the potential to access the remaining $415.7 million through the issuance of common stock under the Company’s $500.0 million at-the-market (“ATM”) equity program.

•In January 2021, we issued $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.00% senior notes due 2031.

•In April 2021, our 3.25% senior unsecured convertible notes matured. We paid $67.1 million, including accrued interest of $1.0 million and a $6.1 million conversion premium, to retire the convertible notes.

•In the first quarter of 2021, we issued 661,951 common shares through our ATM program at an average price of $73.62, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $48.0 million, initially used to pay down our revolving credit facility.

•In 2021, we reduced borrowings on our unsecured bank credit facility by $573.0 million.

•In December 2021, we repaid two Fannie Mae mortgage loans with a combined balance of $17.9 million, plus accrued interest of $0.1 million and a prepayment fee of $1.5 million.

Sources and Uses of Funds

Our primary sources of cash include rent payments, principal and interest payments on mortgage and other notes receivable, proceeds from the sales of real property, net proceeds from offerings of equity securities and borrowings from our loans and revolving credit facility. Our primary uses of cash include debt service payments (both principal and interest), new investments in real estate and notes receivable, dividend distributions to our stockholders and general corporate overhead.

These sources and uses of cash are reflected in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows as summarized below ($ in thousands):

Year Ended One Year Change Year Ended One Year Change

Operating Activities – Net cash provided by operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, which includes rental income from new investments completed, lease payment collections arising from escalators on existing leases and interest payments on new real estate and note investments completed during 2021 and 2020, was impacted by additional rent concessions granted for 2021 totaling $26.4 million, Holiday’s nonpayment of contractual rent, excluding penalties and interest, of $11.4 million and property dispositions of approximately $4.6 million.

Investing Activities – Net cash flows provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was comprised primarily of $122.6 million of investments in mortgage and other notes and renovations and acquisitions of real estate, offset by the proceeds from the sales of real estate of $238.9 million and the collection of principal on mortgage and other notes receivable of $67.8 million. Net cash flows used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was comprised primarily of $175.1 million of investments in real estate and notes, and was partially offset by the collection of principal on mortgage and other notes receivable of $46.6 million and $39.6 million in net proceeds from the disposition of real estate assets.

Financing Activities – Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 differs from the same period in 2020 primarily as a result of a $248.8 million decrease in net borrowings, inclusive of a $400.0 million senior note offering, a $13.3 million increase in proceeds from issuance of common shares and dividend payments which increased $11.7 million over the same period in 2020.

Debt Obligations

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As of December 31, 2021, we had outstanding debt of $1.2 billion. Reference Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information about our outstanding indebtedness. Also, reference “Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” for more details on our indebtedness and the impact of interest rate risk.

Unsecured Bank Credit Facility - Our bank credit facility derives from the Credit Agreement dated as of August 3, 2017 (the “2017 Agreement”), and a Term Loan Agreement dated as of September 17, 2018 (the “2018 Agreement”). Together these agreements establish our unsecured $925.0 million bank credit facility, which consists of two term loans - $75.0 million maturing in August 2022 and $300.0 million maturing in September 2023 - and a $550.0 million revolving credit facility with a maturity in August 2022.

In April 2021, the Company exercised its one year extension option on the revolving credit facility by paying a 10 basis point extension fee totaling $0.6 million, extending the maturity of the revolver to August 2022. Some combination of cash on hand, proceeds from recent and planned asset sales and operating cash flows is expected to be used to pay off the $75.0 million term loan at its maturity in August 2022.

We are negotiating with the banks comprising the lending syndicate under the Credit Agreement the significant terms for a new credit agreement that will provide us with a four-year initial term $700.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility that will replace the existing facility. The new credit agreement will also allow for an increase of up to $300.0 million in aggregate incremental facilities, comprised of additional revolving capacity or term loans. We have received firm commitment letters from three banks representing $345.0 million.

As currently negotiated, the new facility will bear interest at a variable rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus a term spread adjustment and an applicable margin based upon on our credit ratings. We expect to close on the new agreement in advance of the August 2022 maturity date of the existing credit agreement and are currently scheduled to close by the end of the first quarter of 2022. We currently project having sufficient liquidity from a combination of cash on hand, proceeds form recent and planned asset sales and operating cash flows that can be used to pay off the $75.0 million term loan at its maturity in August 2022 should we experience a delay in executing the new agreement.

Effective August 1, 2021, we exercised our one-time option included in our credit agreements to shift from the leverage-based interest schedule to the ratings-based interest schedule. This change potentially reduces the volatility of our interest costs on borrowings under the credit agreements during periods when our leverage may fluctuate higher. Our decision to move to the credit ratings-based interest schedule considered the relative costs under each interest schedule in addition to our desire to have a more stable interest cost if our leverage were to fluctuate.

As of December 31, 2021, the LIBOR spreads on the revolver and term loans were 120 bps and a blended 127 bps, respectively, based on our current debt ratings. The facility fee was 25 bps per annum. At December 31, 2021, no amount was outstanding under the revolving facility.

On December 31, 2021, our $400 million in interest rate swaps expired, leaving the $375.0 million outstanding variable rate debt exposed to interest rate risk. Our swaps and the financial instruments to which they relate are described below, under the caption “Interest Rate Swap Agreements.” The current LIBOR spreads and facility fee reflect our ratings compliance based on the applicable margin for LIBOR loans at Level 4 in the Interest Rate Schedule provided below in summary format:

Interest Rate Schedule

LIBOR Spread

Beyond the applicable ratios detailed above, if our credit rating from at least two credit rating agencies is downgraded below “BBB-/Baa3” (not shown below Level 5) the debt under our credit agreements will be subject to defined increases in interest rates and fees.

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The 2017 Agreement requires that we calculate specified financial statement metrics and meet or exceed a variety of financial ratios, which are usual and customary in nature. These ratios are calculated quarterly and were within required limits for each reporting period in 2021 and 2020. The calculation of our leverage ratio involves intermediate determinations of our “total indebtedness” and of our “total asset value,” as defined in the 2017 Agreement. The 2018 Agreement generally includes the same covenants and financial statement metrics required for compliance with terms of the 2017 Agreement.

Senior Notes Offering - On January 26, 2021, we issued $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.00% senior notes that mature on February 1, 2031 and pay interest semi-annually on February 1 and August 1 of each year, beginning on August 1, 2021 (the “2031 Senior Notes”). The 2031 Senior Notes were sold at an issue price of 99.196% of face value before the underwriters’ discount. Our net proceeds from the 2031 Senior Notes offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and expenses, were approximately $392.3 million. We used the net proceeds from the 2031 Senior Notes offering to repay our $100.0 million term loan that was entered into in July 2020 and reduce borrowings outstanding under our revolving credit facility. The $100.0 million term loan bore interest at a rate of 30-day LIBOR (with a 50 basis point floor) plus 185 bps, based on our current leverage ratios.

We remain in compliance with all debt covenants under the unsecured bank credit facility, 2031 Senior Notes and other debt agreements.

Convertible Senior Notes - On April 1, 2021, our 3.25% senior unsecured convertible notes (the “Convertible Notes”) matured. The Company paid $67.1 million, including accrued interest of $1.0 million and a $6.1 million conversion premium, to retire the Convertible Notes. The conversion premium was recorded as a reduction of “Capital in excess of par value”in our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2021.

When we take on new debt or when we modify or replace existing debt, we incur debt issuance costs. These costs are subject to amortization over the term of the new debt instrument and may result in the write-off of fees associated with debt which has been replaced or modified.

Debt Maturities - Reference Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements for more information on our debt maturities.

Credit Ratings - Moody's Investors Services (“Moody’s) announced on November 5, 2020 that it assigned an investment grade issuer credit rating and a senior unsecured debt rating of ‘Baa3’ with a “Negative” outlook to the Company. Moody’s released a credit opinion on October 31, 2021 which affirmed the rating and outlook for the Company. Both Fitch and S&P Global announced in November 2019 a public issuer credit rating of BBB- with an outlook of “Stable”. Fitch confirmed its rating most recently on December 9, 2021, and S&P Global confirmed its rating on November 16, 2021. Our unsecured private placement term loan agreements include a rate increase provision that is effective if any rating agency lowers our credit rating below investment grade and our compliance leverage increases to 50% or more. Any reduction in outlook or downgrade in our credit ratings from the rating agencies could negatively impact our costs of borrowings.

Reference Rate Reform - On March 5, 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that USD LIBOR will no longer be published after June 30, 2023. This announcement has several implications, including setting the spread that may be used to automatically convert contracts from LIBOR to SOFR. Additionally, banking regulators encouraged banks to discontinue new LIBOR debt issuances by December 31, 2021. We may choose not to hedge any more of our LIBOR positions for the relatively short duration remaining during which LIBOR may be referenced.

The Company anticipates that LIBOR will continue to be available at least until June 30, 2023. Any changes adopted by the FCA or other governing bodies in the method used for determining LIBOR may result in a sudden or prolonged increase or decrease in reported LIBOR. If that were to occur, our interest payments could change. In addition, uncertainty about the extent and manner of future changes may result in interest rates and/or payments that are higher or lower than if LIBOR were to remain available in its current form. Upon the issuance of the 2031 Senior Notes, the Company reduced its LIBOR-based financial instruments.

Debt Metrics - We believe that our fixed charge coverage ratio, which is the ratio of Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, including amounts in discontinued operations, excluding real estate asset impairments and gains on dispositions) to fixed charges (interest expense at contractual rates net of capitalized interest and principal payments on debt), and the ratio of consolidated net debt to Adjusted EBITDA are meaningful measures of our ability to service our debt. We use these two measures as a useful basis to compare the strength of our balance sheet with those in our peer group. We also believe our balance sheet gives us a competitive advantage when accessing debt markets.

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We calculate our fixed charge coverage ratio as approximately 5.5x for the year ended December 31, 2021 (see our discussion below under the heading Adjusted EBITDA including a reconciliation to our net income). Giving effect to significant acquisitions, financings, disposals and payoffs on an annualized basis, our consolidated net debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio is approximately 4.8x for the year ended December 31, 2021 ($ in thousands):

Less: cash and cash equivalents (37,412)

Annualized impact of recent investments, disposals and payoffs (15,187)

Consolidated Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA 4.8 x

Interest Rate Swap Agreements

On December 31, 2021, our $400.0 million interest rate swap agreements in place to hedge against fluctuations in variable interest rates applicable to our bank loans matured. Therefore, we had no remaining interest rate swap agreements outstanding. In June 2020, $210.0 million notional amount of swaps matured.

For instruments that were designated and qualified as cash flow hedges, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative has been reported as a component of other comprehensive income (loss), and reclassified into earnings in the same period, or periods, during which the hedged transaction affects earnings.

Supplemental Guarantor Financial Information

The Company’s $925.0 million bank credit facility, unsecured private placement term loans due January 2023 through January 2027 with an aggregate principal amount of $400.0 million and 2031 Senior Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by each of the Company’s subsidiaries, except for certain excluded subsidiaries (“Guarantors”). The Guarantors are either owned, controlled or are affiliates of the Company, which are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The following tables present summarized financial information for the Company and the Guarantors, on a combined basis after eliminating (i) intercompany transactions and balances among the guarantor entities and (ii) equity in earnings from, and any investments in, any subsidiary that is a non-guarantor ($ in thousands):

As of

Real estate properties, net $ 1,977,370

Note receivable due from non-guarantor subsidiary 81,396

Noncontrolling interest $ 398

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Year Ended

Interest revenue on note due from non-guarantor subsidiary 4,657

Loss from equity method investee (1,545)

Gains on sales of real estate 32,498

Loss on early retirement of debt (451)

Other income 350

Net income attributable to NHI and the subsidiary guarantors $ 108,920

Equity

At December 31, 2021, we had 45,850,599 shares of common stock outstanding with a market value of $2.6 billion. Equity on our Consolidated Balance Sheet totaled $1.5 billion.

Dividends - Our Board of Directors approves a regular quarterly dividend which is reflective of expected taxable income on a recurring basis. Taxable income is determined in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code and differs from net income for financial statements purposes determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Our Board of Directors has historically directed the Company toward maintaining a strong balance sheet. Therefore, we consider the competing interests of short and long-term debt (interest rates, maturities and other terms) versus the higher cost of new equity, and we accept some level of risk associated with leveraging our investments. Sustaining long-term dividend growth will require that we consider all sources of capital with the goal of maintaining a low-leverage balance sheet and staggered debt maturities as mitigation against potential adverse changes in the business of our industry, tenants and borrowers. We intend to continue to make new investments that meet our underwriting criteria and where the spreads over our cost of equity and debt capital on a leverage neutral basis will generate sufficient returns to our stockholders.

We intend to comply with REIT dividend requirements that we distribute at least 90% of our annual taxable income for the year ended December 31, 2021 and thereafter. Historically, the Company has distributed at least 100% of annual taxable income. Dividends declared for the fourth quarter of each fiscal year are paid by the end of the following January and are, with some exceptions, treated for tax purposes as having been paid in the fiscal year just ended as provided in IRS Code Sec. 857(b)(8).

Our dividends per share for the last three years are as follows:

At-the-Market (ATM) Equity Program - We maintain an ATM program which allows us to sell our common stock directly into the market. In March 2020 the Company entered into a new ATM equity offering sales agreement pursuant to which the Company may sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate sales price of $500.0 million of the Company’s common shares through the ATM equity program.

The following table summarizes the share issuances under our ATM program as of December 31, 2021 ($ in thousands):

Year Shares Weighted Average Share Price Net Proceeds

The table above does not include indirect legal and accounting costs associated with updating and maintaining our shelf registration statement.

Our use of ATM proceeds rebalanced our leverage in response to our acquisitions and keeps our options flexible for further expansion. We typically use of proceeds from the ATM program for general corporate purposes, which may include future acquisitions and repayment of indebtedness, including borrowings under our credit facility. We view our ATM program as an

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effective way to match-fund our smaller acquisitions by exercising control over the timing and size of transactions and achieving a more favorable cost of capital as compared to larger follow-on offerings.

Shelf Registration Statement - We have an automatic shelf registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission that allows the Company to offer and sell to the public an unspecified amount of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and or units at prices and on terms to be announced when and if such securities are offered. The details of any future offerings, along with the use of proceeds from any securities offered, will be described in a prospectus supplement or other offering materials, at the time of offering. Our shelf registration statement expires March 2023.

Material Cash Requirements

Our expected material cash requirements for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 and thereafter consist of long-term debt maturities; interest on long-term debt; and contractually obligated expenditures. We expect to meet our short-term liquidity needs largely through cash generated from operations and borrowings under our revolving credit facility, refer to Unsecured Bank Credit Facility above, and sales from real estate investments, although we may choose to seek alternative sources of liquidity. Should we have additional liquidity needs, we believe that we could access long-term financing in the debt and equity capital markets.

The following table summarizes information as of December 31, 2021 related to our material cash requirements ($ in thousands):

Total Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2022 Thereafter

Our debt maturities in 2022 are comprised primarily of a $75 million term loan maturity in August 2022. Reference Unsecured Bank Credit Facility above, for more discussion of the status of the Company’s renewal of its credit facility.

We believe our current liquidity position, supplemented by our ability to generate positive cash flows from operations in the future, and our low net leverage will be sufficient to meet all of our short-term and long-term financial commitments.

Loan and Development Commitments and Contingencies

The following tables summarize information as of December 31, 2021 related to our outstanding commitments and contingencies which are more fully described in the notes to the consolidated financial statements ($ in thousands):

Asset Class Type Total Funded Remaining1

Loan Commitments:

Timber Ridge OpCo SHO Working Capital 5,000 — 5,000

1Of the total $37,600 is expected to be payable within 12 months with the remaining commitment due between three to five years.

2 formerly 41 Management

See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements for details of our loan commitments. As provided above, loans funded do not include the effects of discounts or commitment fees. The credit loss liability for unfunded loan commitments was $1.0

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million as of December 31, 2021 and is estimated using the same methodology as for our funded mortgage and other notes receivable based on the estimated amount that we expect to fund.

Asset Class Type Total Funded Remaining1

Development Commitments:

Woodland Village SHO Renovation $ 7,515 $ (7,425) $ 90

Senior Living Communities SHO Renovation 9,930 (9,930) —

Discovery Senior Living SHO Renovation 900 (900) —

Navion Senior Solutions SHO Renovation 3,650 (213) 3,437

1 Expected to be payable within 12 months..

In addition to the commitments listed above, one of our consolidated real estate partnerships has committed to funding up to $2.0 million toward the purchase of condominium units located at one of the facilities, of which $1.0 million has been funded as of December 31, 2021.

Asset Class Total Funded Remaining

Contingencies (Lease Inducements):

Comfort Care Senior Living SHO 6,000 — 6,000

Discovery Senior Living SHO 4,000 — 4,000

We adjust rental income for the amortization of lease inducements paid to our tenants. Amortization of lease inducement payments against revenues was $1.0 million, $1.0 million and $0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Litigation

Our facilities are subject to claims and suits in the ordinary course of business. Our lessees and borrowers have indemnified, and are obligated to continue to indemnify us, against all liabilities arising from the operation of the facilities, and are further obligated to indemnify us against environmental or title problems affecting the real estate underlying such facilities. While there may be lawsuits pending against certain of the owners and/or lessees of the facilities, management believes that the ultimate resolution of all such pending proceedings will have no direct material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

East Lake Capital Management LLC

In June 2018, East Lake Capital Management LLC and certain related entities, including Regency (for three assisted living facilities in Tennessee, Indiana and North Carolina), filed suit against NHI in Texas seeking injunctive and declaratory relief and unspecified monetary damages. NHI responded with counterclaims and filed motions requesting the immediate appointment of a receiver and for pre-judgment possession. Resulting from these claims and counterclaims, on December 6, 2018, the parties entered into an agreement resulting in Regency vacating the facilities in December 2018. On September 22, 2021, all parties entered into an agreement whereby NHI was entitled to receive $0.4 million to settle all claims for this matter. The settlement amount was received in December 2021 and recognized in “Other income” in the Consolidated Statement of Income for the year ended December 31, 2021. In addition, we had approximately $0.3 million in liabilities recorded related to the facilities subject to the litigation that was reversed and recognized in “Interest income and other” for the year ended December 31, 2021.

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Welltower, Inc.

In June 2021, Welltower announced that it would acquire certain assets from the senior housing portfolio of Holiday, a privately held senior living management company in which 17 senior living facilities were included in Holiday’s portfolio and are governed by a master lease originally executed between a Holiday subsidiary and NHI in 2013. We have received no rent due under the master lease for these facilities since this change in tenant ownership occurred.

On December 20, 2021, NHI and its subsidiaries NHI-REIT of Next House, LLC, Myrtle Beach Retirement Resident LLC, and Vorhees Retirement Residence LLC filed suit against Welltower, Inc., Welltower Victory II TRS LLC, and Well Churchill Leasehold Owner LLC (collectively the "Welltower Entities") in Delaware Court of Chancery (Case No. 2021-1097-MTZ). In the litigation, we contend that the Welltower Entities have failed repeatedly to honor their legal obligations to NHI. In particular, we assert that the Welltower Entities acquired assets from a third party, Holiday Retirement, that included leases to NHI senior living facilities and fraudulently induced NHI to consent to the assignment of the leases, and then immediately failed to pay rent or provide a promised security agreement that was intended to secure against their default, all as part of an effort to pressure NHI to agree to new conditions outside the assignment agreement or force a sale of the properties to the Welltower Entities. The Litigation further asserts that the Welltower Entities currently owe unpaid contractual rent. Unpaid contractual rent , excluding penalties and interest, totaled $11.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

FFO & FAD

These supplemental performance measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other REITs. Consequently, our Funds From Operations (“FFO”), Normalized FFO and Normalized Funds Available for Distribution (“FAD”) may not provide a meaningful measure of our performance as compared to that of other REITs. Since other REITs may not use our definition of these measures, caution should be exercised when comparing our FFO, Normalized FFO and Normalized FAD to that of other REITs. These measures do not represent cash generated from operating activities in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) (these measures do not include changes in operating assets and liabilities) and therefore should not be considered an alternative to net earnings as an indication of performance, or to net cash flow from operating activities as determined by GAAP as a measure of liquidity, and are not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs. Beginning in the first quarter of 2021, the Company no longer presented Adjusted Funds From Operations as a supplemental measure of operating performance.

Funds From Operations - FFO

Our FFO per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased $0.89 or 16.2% for the same period in 2020 due primarily to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Holiday’s nonpayment of rent and property dispositions, partially offset by new investments completed since December 2020. FFO, as defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) and applied by us, is net income (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains (or losses) from sales of real estate property, impairments of real estate, and real estate depreciation and amortization, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures, if any. The Company’s computation of FFO may not be comparable to FFO reported by other REITs that do not define the term in accordance with the current NAREIT definition or have a different interpretation of the current NAREIT definition from that of the Company; therefore, caution should be exercised when comparing our Company’s FFO to that of other REITs. Diluted FFO assumes the exercise of stock options and other potentially dilutive securities.

Our Normalized FFO per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased $1.00 or 17.9% for the same period in 2020 due primarily to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Holiday’s nonpayment of rent and property dispositions, partially offset by new investments completed since December 2020. Normalized FFO excludes from FFO certain items which, due to their infrequent or unpredictable nature, may create some difficulty in comparing FFO for the current period to similar prior periods, and may include, but are not limited to, impairment of non-real estate assets, gains and losses attributable to the acquisition and disposition of non-real estate assets and liabilities, and recoveries of previous write-downs.

FFO and Normalized FFO are important supplemental measures of operating performance for a REIT. Because the historical cost accounting convention used for real estate assets requires depreciation (except on land), such accounting presentation implies that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time. Since real estate values instead have historically risen and fallen with market conditions, presentations of operating results for a REIT that uses historical cost accounting for depreciation could be less informative, and should be supplemented with a measure such as FFO. The term FFO was designed by the REIT industry to address this issue.

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Funds Available for Distribution - FAD

Our Normalized FAD for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased $30.3 million or 12.6% from the same period in 2020 due primarily to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Holiday’s nonpayment of rent and property dispositions, partially offset by new investments completed since December 2020. In addition to the adjustments included in the calculation of Normalized FFO, Normalized FAD excludes the impact of any straight-line lease revenue, amortization of the original issue discount on our senior unsecured notes, amortization of debt issuance costs, non-cash share based compensation, as well as certain non-cash items related to our equity method investment.

Normalized FAD is an important supplemental performance measure for a REIT. GAAP requires a lessor to recognize contractual lease payments into income on a straight-line basis over the expected term of the lease. This straight-line adjustment has the effect of reporting lease income that is significantly more or less than the contractual cash flows received pursuant to the terms of the lease agreement. GAAP also requires any discount or premium related to indebtedness and debt issuance costs to be amortized as non-cash adjustments to earnings. We also adjust Normalized FAD for the net change in our allowance for expected credit losses, non-cash share based compensation as well as certain non-cash items related to our equity method investments such as straight-line lease expense and amortization of purchase accounting adjustments. Normalized FAD is an important supplemental measure of liquidity for a REIT as a useful indicator of the ability to distribute dividends to stockholders.

The following table reconciles net income, the most directly comparable GAAP metric, to FFO, Normalized FFO and Normalized FAD and is presented for both basic and diluted weighted average common shares ($ in thousands, except share and per share amounts):

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Years ended December 31,

Elimination of certain non-cash items in net income:

Depreciation related to noncontrolling interests (839) (777) (52)

Non-cash write-off of straight-line rent receivable 709 380 —

Recognition of unamortized note receivable commitment fees (375) — —

Lease termination fee (2,464) — —

Litigation settlement (616) — —

Straight-line lease revenue, net, related to noncontrolling interests 91 111 13

Straight-line lease expense related to equity method investment 46 113 —

Amortization of original issue discount 295 303 761

Amortization related to equity method investment 1,109 1,261 —

Note receivable credit loss expense 949 991 —

Equity method investment capital expenditures (420) (420) —

Equity method investment non-refundable fees received 622 660 —

BASIC

NAREIT FFO attributable to common stockholders per share $ 4.62 $ 5.51 $ 5.52

DILUTED

NAREIT FFO attributable to common stockholders per share $ 4.62 $ 5.51 $ 5.49

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Adjusted EBITDA

We consider Adjusted EBITDA to be an important supplemental measure because it provides information which we use to evaluate our performance and serves as an indication of our ability to service debt. We define Adjusted EBITDA as consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, excluding real estate asset impairments and gains on dispositions and certain items which, due to their infrequent or unpredictable nature, may create some difficulty in comparing Adjusted EBITDA for the current period to similar prior periods. These items include, but are not limited to, impairment of non-real estate assets, gains and losses attributable to the acquisition and disposition of assets and liabilities, and recoveries of previous write-downs. Adjusted EBITDA also includes our proportionate share of unconsolidated equity method investments presented on a similar basis. Since others may not use our definition of Adjusted EBITDA, caution should be exercised when comparing our Adjusted EBITDA to that of other companies. EBITDA reflects GAAP interest expense, which excludes amounts capitalized during the period.

The following table reconciles net income, the most directly comparable GAAP metric, to Adjusted EBITDA ($ in thousands):

Years ended December 31,

NHI’s share of EBITDA adjustments for unconsolidated entities 2,848 1,495 —

Litigation settlement (616) — —

Non-cash write-off of straight-line rent receivable 709 380 —

Note receivable credit loss expense 949 991 —

Lease termination fee (2,464) — —

Recognition of unamortized note receivable commitment fees (375) — —

Fixed Charge Coverage 5.5x 6.0x 5.4x

For all periods presented, EBITDA reflects GAAP interest expense, which excludes amounts capitalized during the period.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

Interest Rate Risk

At December 31, 2021, we were exposed to market risks related to fluctuations in interest rates on approximately $375.0 million of variable-rate indebtedness and on our mortgage and other notes receivable. The unused portion ($550.0 million at December 31, 2021) of our revolving credit facility, should it be drawn upon, is subject to variable rates.

Interest rate fluctuations will generally not affect our future earnings or cash flows on our fixed rate debt and loans receivable unless such instruments mature or are otherwise terminated. However, interest rate changes will affect the fair value of our fixed rate instruments. Conversely, changes in interest rates on variable rate debt and investments would change our future earnings and cash flows, but not significantly affect the fair value of those instruments. Assuming a 50 basis-point increase or decrease in the interest rate related to variable-rate debt, and assuming no change in the outstanding balance as of December 31, 2021, net interest expense would increase or decrease annually by approximately $1.9 million or $0.04 per common share on a diluted basis.

We have historically used derivative financial instruments in the normal course of business to mitigate interest rate risk. We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes. Derivatives are included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at their fair value. We may engage in hedging strategies to manage our exposure to market risks in the future, depending on an analysis of the interest rate environment and the costs and risks of such strategies.

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to our debt ($ in thousands):

Balance1 % of total Rate2 Balance1 % of total Rate2

Fixed rate:

Convertible senior notes $ — — % — % $ 60,000 4.0 % 3.25 %

Revolving credit facility - unsecured — — % — % 60,000 4.0 % 2.81 %

Variable rate:

Revolving credit facility - unsecured — — % — % 238,000 15.8 % 1.34 %

1 Differs from carrying amount due to unamortized discounts and loan costs.

2 Total is weighted average rate

For the year ended December 31, 2020, $340.0 million in unsecured bank term loans and $60.0 million of the revolving credit facility in the table above reflect the effect of $400.0 million notional amount interest rate swaps which matured in December 2021, that effectively converted variable rate debt to fixed rate debt. These loans bore interest at LIBOR plus a spread, currently a blended 127 basis points, based on our credit ratings-based LIBOR margin.

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To highlight the sensitivity of our term loans, senior notes and secured mortgage debt to changes in interest rates, the following summary shows the effects on fair value (“FV”) assuming a parallel shift of 50 basis points (“bps”) in market interest rates for a contract with similar maturities as of December 31, 2021 ($ in thousands):

Balance Fair Value1 FV reflecting change in interest rates

Fixed rate: -50 bps +50 bps

At December 31, 2021, the fair value of our mortgage and other notes receivable, discounted for estimated changes in the risk-free rate, was approximately $314.8 million. A 50 basis-point increase in market rates would decrease the estimated fair value of our mortgage and other loans by approximately $4.0 million, while a 50 basis-point decrease in such rates would increase their estimated fair value by approximately $7.0 million.

Equity Price Risk

The Company is not subject to equity risk since it owns no marketable securities.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Board of Directors and Stockholders

National Health Investors, Inc.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of National Health Investors, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, cash flows and equity for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes and schedules listed in the accompanying index (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.