
Nursing home group sues the government.
The American Health Care Association, a nursing home group that represent most nursing homes in the U.S., sued the government. The decision was made after the officials voted a new rule that allows families to sue the nursing homes in court. The new rule will apply from November 28. Until now, every argument between the patients and the nursing homes had to be solved by using arbitration.
The nursing home group explained that the law applied to all the facilities that get money from Medicare and Medicaid. In the United States, most nursing homes receive money from these two companies. The American Health Care Association filled the lawsuit on Monday. They want the court to delay the ban in November when it should become a law.
According to the nursing home group, arbitration proved to be effective during the years. Not only that the issues are solved faster, but the costs are cheaper. They say that the residents should be given the option of arbitration.
However, according to the authorities, patients can choose the arbitration option if the nursing home agrees. The Department of Health and Human Services did not comment on the lawsuit. The issue seems to be more difficult than it seems. While the government wants to give the patients another option, the nursing homes are feeling vulnerable. They could lose a lot of money if a patient decides to file a lawsuit against them.
There are thousands of nursing homes in the U.S. and most of them are getting money from Medicare or Medicaid. If you want to prevent a lawsuit, you should gather more information about the place you or one of your relatives is going to stay.
Find a nursing home where the staff is responsible and takes care of the patients. Most of the times, the biggest issue is that the staff is not really involved in taking care of people. This could make some patients depressed or even develop some diseases. A nursing home should be clean, have healthy food and provide high-quality services.
Of course, sometimes the services depends on the money you want to spend. However, any nursing home has to offer its patients the main needs every human has. What do you think about the new law? Would you fill a lawsuit against a nursing home?
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