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The federal agency that controls more than $1 trillion in Medicare and Medicaid funding has moved to prevent nursing homes from forcing claims of elder abuse, sexual harassment and even wrongful death into the private system of justice known as arbitration. An agency within the Health and Human Services Department on Wednesday issued a rule that bars any nursing home that receives federal funding from requiring that its residents resolve any disputes in arbitration, instead of court. (Silver-Greenberg and Corkery, 9/28)

A new CMS rule will bar nursing homes from compelling residents to settle disputes in arbitration as a condition of admission and introduces new requirements aimed at improving the quality of care and reducing unnecessary hospital readmissions. (9/28)