(Skip ahead for a "60 Second Takeaway" summary video of this blog) Why Now? On December 22, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") issued a memorandum titled, "An Initiative to Address Facility Initiated Discharges that Violate Federal Regulations." Therein, CMS noted that although the Federal regulations set forth specific circumstances upon which a nursing facility may discharge or transfer a resident, complaints to State Long Term Care Ombudsman Programs with respect to improper discharges and transfers were on the rise. As a result, CMS began an initiative to examine and mitigate facility-initiated discharges/transfers that violate federal regulations. Therefore, a p

(Skip ahead for a "60 Second Takeaway" summary video of this blog) On May 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a significant ruling addressing the use of arbitration clauses in nursing home admissions agreements. In Kindred Nursing Centers Ltd. P’ship v. Clark, 137 S. Ct. 1421 (2017), the Court decided whether binding arbitration clauses found within a nursing home admissions agreement were valid when signed by the residents’ legal representatives acting under the broad authority granted to such representatives via the residents’ written powers of attorney. In short, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the nursing home, upholding the arbitration clauses. Before reaching the