It’s not all Doom and Gloom in Washington

The economy may be tanking, but not everything is so bleak in the capital.  Two important consumer bills recently passed out of their respective Senate committees.  Each would go a long way in protecting the health and rights of seniors:

• The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act (S.2838), which we’ve written about before, would end the unfair, mandatory binding arbitration agreements that many nursing home corporations use to escape accountability for negligent care.  It passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

• The other bill, which moved through the Senate Finance Committee, is the Herb Kohl sponsored (and Hillary Clinton cosponsored) Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act (S.1577).  This bill would establish a nationwide system of criminal background checks for people who want to work in nursing homes.