Recently, a Tennessee legislator labeled a proposal backed by the nursing home industry the "Kill Old People Cheap Act" (Knoxville News Sentinel). The bill would cap damages and force consumers into binding mandatory arbitration to resolve disputes, as a condition of admission.

Today's Wall Street Journal has a page one story by Nathan Koppel called Nursing Homes, in Bid to Cut Costs, Prod Patients to Forgo Lawsuits (pd. subs. req'd) explaining how nursing homes are among the leading users of arbitration, but that all the other corporations on the block are doing it, too. Excerpt:

The nursing-home industry's arbitration strategy is part of a much broader response by U.S. companies to consumer lawsuits. Businesses from restaurants to banks have ramped up their use of arbitration agreements in recent years to reduce litigation costs and sidestep emotion-laden juries, often requiring employees or consumers to give up rights to a trial as a condition of receiving services. Studies have suggested about a third of businesses are requiring arbitration for consumer disputes, and about one-fifth of employers are requiring it for complaints by employees.