New York Times Article Questions Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements

State regulators and courts are increasingly questioning the validity of arbitration clauses in nursing home admission agreements, according to a recent article in the New York Times ("Pivotal Nursing Home Suit Raises a Simple Question: Who Signed the Contract?"). The article reports that a number of courts have rejected arbitration clauses in admission agreements signed by a resident's family member, based on the family member's lack of authority to bind the resident to arbitration. The Times notes that officials in sixteen states have urged the federal government to deny Medicare and Medicaid funds to nursing homes that use arbitration clauses.

Contact: Nancy Truland, ntruland@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383.