On May 15, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Kentucky nursing home's use of mandatory arbitration agreements in nursing home admissions. In a 7-1 ruling, the justices found that the lower court violated the Federal Arbitration Act when it declined to give effect to the arbitration agreements signed by family members of residents in a nursing home.

In view of the Trump administration's stated agenda to reduce regulation, this decision should provide the final blow to the rule published on September 28, 2016 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (discussed here) which included a prohibition on requiring residents to accept pre-dispute binding arbitration as a condition of admission to a skilled nursing facility. As reported here, the rule has been actively opposed by the nursing home industry, including a lawsuit to challenge the enforcement of the rule.

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