Accounting Policies and Related Matters (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with instructions to Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (such as normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the six months ended June 30, 2020 are not necessarily an indication of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020. For further information, refer to the financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

New Accounting Standards

New Accounting Standards   

•On January 1, 2020, we adopted ASU 2016-13, “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments" ("ASU 2016-13"). This standard requires a new forward-looking “expected loss” model to be used for receivables, held-to-maturity debt, loans, and other instruments. In November 2018, the FASB issued an amendment excluding operating lease receivables accounted for under the new leases standard from the scope of the new credit losses standard. ASU 2016-13 primarily impacts our measurement for credit losses related to our real estate and non-real estate loans receivable. In conjunction with our adoption of ASU 2016-13, we recorded a $5,212,000 increase to our allowance for credit losses on loans receivable (both real estate and non-real estate) with a corresponding adjustment to cumulative net income related to the change in accounting principle. See Note 7 for further details.

•At the FASB's April 8, 2020 Board meeting, the staff acknowledged that the economics of lease concessions that result from a global pandemic may not be aligned with the underlying premise of the modification framework in ASC 842, under which the concession would be recognized over the remainder of the lease term. In a Q&A document, the FASB provided entities with COVID-19 related lease concessions an option to either (1) apply the modification framework for these concessions in accordance with ASC 842 as applicable or (2) account for concessions as if they were made under the enforceable rights included in the original agreement as long as total cash flows resulting from the modified contract are substantially the same or less than cash flows in the original contract. Due to the continuing adverse economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a subset of outpatient medical tenants have requested rent relief, most often in the form of a short-term rent deferral. Not all tenant requests result in modification of agreements, nor do we intend to forgo our contractual rights under our lease agreements. We evaluate each tenant's rent relief request on an individual basis. Generally we expect the majority of rent deferral agreements to result in two months of full or partial rent relief to repaid by the end of the year. We have elected to apply the accounting relief provided by the FASB to such short-term rent deferrals, and will account for such deferrals as if no change had been made to the original lease contract.