Federal rules soon to be finalized fail to hold nursing homes truly accountable to patients, their families or the law when it comes to abuse, according to an editorial in the New York Times.
At issue are arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts that require consumers to settle any disputes through private arbitration rather than through lawsuits.
Companies like forced arbitration because it usually tilts in their favor and shields them from liability, says the newspaper.
But it denies justice to patients who have been wronged, it says.
Such cases in nursing homes are usually about care, not money. Typical claims involve neglect leading to broken bones, dehydration or untreated pain.
The new proposals by the federal government do not ban pre-dispute arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts. The homes usually make patients sign these clauses upon admission, the paper says. They are in essence forcing patients to sign away their right to sue.
The paper wants the government to ban these clauses.
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