On June 5, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to revise requirements established by the Reform of Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities final rule (2016 Final Rule). Specifically, the proposed rule would remove regulations prohibiting long-term care facilities from entering into pre-dispute arbitration agreements with residents or their caretakers and revise the requirements arbitration agreements must meet. CMS reviewed the 2016 final rule for consistency with the 2017 Executive Order “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs” and determined that a ban on pre-dispute arbitration agreements imposes unnecessary and excessive costs on providers. CMS also determined that arbitration agreements are beneficial to both providers and beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid by reducing costs and expenses associated with litigation.
The proposed rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on June 8, 2017. Comments to the proposed rule must be received by CMS no later than 5 pm EST on August 7, 2017.
