On June 6, 2017, the Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a new rule allowing Nursing Homes to use pre-dispute arbitration agreements, including as a condition for admission. CMS had previously issued a ban on such agreements in November of last year. That ban never went into effect due to the issuance of a temporary injunction by a federal judge in Mississippi. The injunction was sought by nursing home advocates who successfully argued that CMS overstepped its authority in issuing the ban, and that the ban violated the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). CMS initially appealed the issuance of the injunction but withdrew its appeal this past Friday.
CMS’s new rules still address arbitration agreements but in a more narrowly tailored way.
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