Section 4 According to Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act, a jury trial is necessary to determine if an arbitration agreement is enforceable: The court shall hear the parties, and upon being satisfied that the making of the agreement for arbitration or the failure to comply therewith is not in issue, the court shall
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2019 rule prohibits nursing homes from forcing residents to sign binding arbitration agreements as a condition of admission to the facility, or as a requirement to continue receiving care. Today is the day surveyors will begin using new guidance to check for compliance since the rule’s Sept. 16, 2019 effective
The Mental Health Matters Act would ban unfair arbitration clauses, class action waivers, discretionary clauses, and representation waivers in ERISA-governed plans. The Mental Health Matters Act would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to make mandatory arbitration clauses unenforceable. This would ban pre-dispute arbitration as a condition of joining the plan. A big win
The New York Times had a great article on the scourge of mandatory arbitration clauses in admission paperwork for assisted living facilities. Although arbitration is ubiquitous in modern life, it is unfair in the health care setting. When residents sign these agreements hidden among the dozens of admission pages, the facility tricks them into waiving
Law-abiding nursing home operators have a new complaint. They compete with chains who “engage in exploitative tactics or otherwise break the law.” The disadvantaged facilities blames illegal use of financial guarantees at admission. Media reports indicate the practice is widespread and growing. The nursing home industry’s predatory practices include arbitration and attempting to collect from