The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial Law and Administrative Law Tuesday approved the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act, which would outlaw signing an arbitration agreement as a prerequisite to admission in a nursing home.

The False Claims Correction Act (H.R. 4854) Wednesday made its way to the House Judiciary Committee for deliberation and a markup.

A healthcare system that proposes giving gift cards to residents and other customers it disappoints with poor service is on firm legal ground, federal regulators say.

The Service Employees International Union recently organized more nursing home workers than ever before in such a short period, the organization said.

Nursing homes took their case for arbitration agreements Wednesday to a Senate joint committee, which heard testimony for and against a bill that would invalidate arbitration clauses in admissions contracts.

The Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Special Committee on Aging will hear arguments both for and against the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act this Wednesday.

Providers cried "discrimination" and consumer advocates called for an even tougher stance Tuesday during a congressional hearing on the "Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2008." House and Senate bills (H.R. 6126 and S. 2838) seek to disallow pre-admission clauses that bind residents to arbitration should a complaint be filed later.

American Health Care Association President and CEO Bruce Yarwood has reaffirmed his organization's opposition to the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act. A version of the bill was introduced Thursday in the House of Representatives, about six weeks after a Senate version was unveiled.

Nursing home operators would be unable to subject residents and prospective residents to binding arbitration clauses under a bill introduced Thursday afternoon in the U.S. House. When a companion bill was introduced in the Senate in April, consumer groups enthusiastically praised it and provider advocates roundly criticized it.

Average national liability costs to the long-term care sector have stabilized for the first time in nine years, according to a report released Monday by the Aon Corp.