Trump Administration Scraps Nursing Community Arbitration Ban

The Trump administration this week partially rolled backed an Obama-era policy on banning binding accords that prohibit nursing community residents from suing their care places over cases of neglect or abuse, reports Politico Pro . A final rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) makes clear that long-term care communities may ask residents or their families to agree — prior to a dispute arising — to settle complaints through arbitration instead of litigation. However, in a major change from the original CMS proposal, the final rule will not allow nursing communities to require residents to sign a binding arbitration agreement as a condition of admission. In addition, the rule includes some measures aimed at making arbitration more transparent, most notably ensuring the agreement is explained to residents in a manner they can understand. The agency, though, declined to include proposals that the policy on binding arbitration be posted in visible areas and written in plain language. Separately, the CMS on Tuesday proposed a rule aimed at reducing paperwork for long-term care providers by eliminating "obsolete or excessively burdensome regulations." This includes allowing for the streamlining of some compliance programs.