The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published final regulations governing nursing homes on September 28, 2016 that add new requirements and revise hundreds of existing rights and standards.
On September 28, 2016, the Department of Public Health (DPH) gave unconditional written approval to Rockport Healthcare Services to implement its revised closure and relocation plans for Seaview, Pacific and Eureka Rehabilitation & Wellness Centers in Eureka.
In a stunning development to protect nursing home residents, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a new rule prohibiting nursing homes from using pre-dispute binding arbitration agreements with residents.
San Francisco, September 29, 2016 – An outright ban on the use of pre-dispute binding arbitration agreements highlights the most significant re-write of federal nursing home regulations in 25 years. Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted its final rule for revising the requirements that nursing homes must meet to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding. The rule is 713 pages long and affects virtually every aspect of the lives of nursing home residents but one sentence on page 689 will likely have the greatest impact: A facility must not enter into a pre-dispute agreement for binding arbitration with any resident or resident’s representative Calling pre-dispute arbitration agreements “unconscionable” by their very nature, CMS has protected nursing home residents from signing away their rights to file lawsuits when they are subjected to abuse or neglect or have their rights violated. Arbitration agreements are used by nearly all nursing homes to ensure residents have limited options when they are harmed or need justice.
On September 19, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that North American Health Care (NAHC) and its top officials have agreed to pay $30 million to settle allegations that it sought payment from Medicare and TRICARE for therapy services its residents did not need.
Three Eureka nursing homes operated by companies affiliated with Shlomo Rechnitz submitted proposed closure plans to the Department of Public Health on August 24, 2016, creating fear that large numbers of residents would be transferred to distant nursing homes outside of Humboldt County.
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In a major victory for assisted living consumers, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant issued a temporary restraining order to protect the elderly and disabled residents of Brentwood Manor, a 140-bed residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) in Los Angeles.