Today the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Special Committee on Aging will hear arguments both for and against the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act. The joint committee met today at 10:30am in the Senate Dirksen Office Building. They discussed the pros and cons of barring arbitration agreements as a prerequisite to nursing home admission. The reasoning is that many nursing homes are scared that without arbitration clauses the Medicaid money might end up being wasted on legal fees and settlements as opposed to treatment and providing a quality improvement. The opponents of arbitration are arguing that the practice in unjust and strips the elderly the right to a fair trial.
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