Arbitration Clauses In Long Term Care Admission Agreements

Long term care facilities (particularly skilled nursing facilities) must carefully weigh the benefits and potential costs of including arbitration provisions in admissions agreements. While recent developments in federal and state law favor enforceability of arbitration clauses—even specific to the long-term care context—facilities must note that no sweeping policy will fit every individual case. In the event a dispute between a resident (or estate/personal representative) and a facility were to be litigated, the individual facts and circumstances involving the signing of the agreement itself—and the specific terms of the arbitration provision at issue—will prove decisive in a court's determination of whether to uphold arbitration.