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From: Public Citizen
Nursing Home Industry Launches Campaign of Deception to Derail Protections for Elderly Residents
More Than 100 Public Interest Organizations Support the Legislation; Industry Coalition Opposes It Under Pretense of Consumer Protection
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the eve of a key U.S. Senate committee vote on legislation to help protect residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities from abuse and neglect, the nursing home industry has launched a campaign of deception about the legislation.
Today [Sep. 11, 2008], the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to mark up S. 2838, the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act, sponsored by Sens. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.). The bill would make pre-dispute binding mandatory arbitration provisions unenforceable in nursing home contracts. The House Judiciary Committee approved the measure in July.
Buried in the fine print of admissions contracts, these arbitration clauses strip elderly residents and their families of the right to take nursing homes to court in cases of abuse or neglect – a critical tool in prompting nursing homes to take better care of residents. Instead, any disputes must be brought in a private, expensive, secretive forum chosen by the nursing home, giving the arbitration firm an incentive to favor the nursing home company that brings it business. A 2007 Public Citizen study of 34,000 credit card arbitration cases showed that businesses won 94.7 percent of cases against consumers.
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