110 HR 6126 RH: Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration
U.S. House of Representatives
2008-09-26
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EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration
Act of 2008
.
2.
(a)Arbitration of
certain controversiesChapter
1 of title 9, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
17.Validity and
enforceability
(a)For
purposes of this section:
(1)The term
long-term care facility
means—
(A)any skilled nursing
facility as defined in 1819(a) of the Social Security Act;
(B)any nursing
facility as defined in 1919(a) of the Social Security Act; or
(C)a public facility,
proprietary facility, or facility of a private nonprofit corporation
that—
(i)makes available to
adult residents supportive services to assist the residents in carrying out
activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, getting in and out of bed or
chairs, walking, going outdoors, using the toilet, or obtaining or taking
medication; and
(ii)provides a dwelling place (which may
contain a full kitchen and bathroom) for residents in order to deliver
supportive services described in clause (i), that includes common rooms and
other facilities appropriate for the provision of such services to residents of
the facility;
but
excludes a facility, or portion of a facility, that either does not provide the
services described in clause (i) or has as its primary purpose to educate or to
treat substance abuse problems.(2)Pre-dispute
arbitration agreementThe term pre-dispute arbitration
agreement
means any agreement to arbitrate a dispute that arises after
such agreement is made.
(b)Invalidity of
pre-dispute arbitration agreementsA pre-dispute arbitration
agreement between a long-term care facility and a resident of such facility (or
person acting on behalf of such resident, including a person with financial
responsibility for such resident) shall not be valid or specifically
enforceable.
(c)Application to
agreementsThis section shall
apply to any pre-dispute arbitration agreement between a long-term care
facility and a resident of such facility (or a person acting on behalf of such
a resident, including a person with financial responsibility for such
resident), and shall apply to a pre-dispute arbitration agreement entered into
either at any time during the admission process or at any time after the
admission process.
(d)Application of
Federal lawA determination as to whether this chapter applies to
an arbitration agreement described in this section shall be determined under
Federal law. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the validity or
enforceability of such agreement shall be determined by the court, rather than
the arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party opposing arbitration
challenges such agreement specifically or in conjunction with any other term of
the contract containing such
agreement.
.
(b)The table of
sections in chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
17. Validity and
enforcement.
.
3.Effective date;
application of amendments
(a)Except as provided in
subsection (b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b)Application of
amendmentsThe amendments
made by this Act shall apply with respect to agreements made, amended, altered,
modified, renewed, or extended on or after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
September 26, 2008
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State
of the Union, and ordered to be printed