TDS: Trump To Do Away With Nursing Home Lawsuit Rule

by William Teach | August 7, 2017 6:51 am

[1]

As Twitchy[2] asks, if the rule was so important, why did Obama wait until September 2016 to implement it?

Trump admin to end Obama rule allowing nursing home residents to sue for mistreatment: https://t.co/f4V5EelF4f[3] pic.twitter.com/l6AWD5zt3u[4]

— The Hill (@thehill) August 6, 2017[5]

This has led to a freakout in Liberal World, as you can see in some tweets at Twitchy, and the comments at The Hill article[6]. What’s going on is that CMS (Centers For Medicaid and Medicare Services) announced in June that they were looking to do away with a rule implemented by Obama that allows nursing homes that accept Medicaid and Medicare to be sued right from the get go when there are issues, from tiny to large, doing away with any language in contracts that allows arbitration. You know, like in virtually every contract you sign today. Your cellphone provider has a very tough arbitration clause, as does your home mortgage, car purchase, etc.

CMS said it decided to reconsider the Obama rule after a federal district court judge in Mississippi issued an order[7] in November temporarily blocking the rule from taking effect.

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and a group of nursing homes had sued CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services in October, claiming that the rule violated the Federal Arbitration Act, and that the agencies had overstepped their statutory authority in issuing the law. The AHCA said Congress has repeatedly rejected legislation to invalidate arbitration agreements.

So, the rule is, get this, a violation of the law. Who would ever think that Obama would implement a rule that stretches or breaks the law. Someone should tell Rep. Ted Lieu that it’s his job to change the law if he doesn’t like it

With Muslim Ban, legal immigration proposed cuts & now this, @realDonaldTrump[8] is going after grandparents. Why does Trump hate grandmothers? https://t.co/BIGOIuJWBs[9]

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 6, 2017[10]

Anyhow

Under its proposed revisions, CMS said nursing homes would be required to write the arbitration agreements in plain language and explain the agreement to the prospective resident or his or her representative. Residents would also be required to acknowledge they understand the agreement.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also backing the rule change. The nation’s leading business group fought back against the original rule, claiming that restricting arbitration would raise the cost of nursing home care and make it harder, and more costly, for residents to resolve disputes.

There’s a lot more to that excerpt, regarding the notion that lawsuits can be expensive and lengthy, and some are small and not necessary. Time will tell what the final rule will look like, but, it will surely include what you see in a car buyers order: that you agree to arbitrate most things, but it doesn’t fully require arbitration for big things. Like a bad airbag inflating and seriously injuring you. And things like abuse, sexual assault, neglect, etc, all mentioned in the article, should go to law enforcement first, wouldn’t you think?

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove[11]. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach[12].