The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a final rule Wednesday stating that it will no longer prohibit nursing homes from forcing a resident into arbitration if they have a dispute with the nursing home. As a result, nursing homes can enforce agreements in which residents sign away their right to access the court system if they’re injured or harmed.
“This shameful move by the Trump administration puts the interests of nursing home corporations before residents – the people who need our protection the most,” said Remington A. Gregg, counsel for civil justice and consumer rights for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division
Nursing home residents are among our most vulnerable citizens, Gregg said, adding forcing them into secret arbitration process will allow systemic problems in nursing homes to go unaddressed and remain hidden.
“Reversing commonsense safeguards that would hold the multibillion-dollar nursing home industry accountable for providing quality care and protecting residents’ access to justice is unconscionable,” he said. “Instead of protecting vulnerable seniors, the Trump administration is giving nursing home corporations a Get Out of Jail Free card.”
