The American Arbitration Association® (AAA) announces that significant revisions have been made to the AAA Healthcare Payor Provider Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures.
The amendments to the arbitration rules, effective October 1, 2022, were made to reinforce the AAA’s commitment to confidentiality, civility, and efficiency. The updated rules, which also emphasize the AAA’s dedication to enabling consolidation, are the result of a two-year initiative by an internal AAA Healthcare Advisory Council working group.
“There have been fast-moving changes in different areas of the healthcare industry, and we have adapted our arbitration rules and procedures to address these trends and concerns for the parties involved in alternative dispute resolution,” said Michelle Skipper, Vice President of the AAA’s Commercial Division. “In addition, our ongoing enhancements to the technology powering our solutions and offerings can further improve speed, economy, and privacy throughout the arbitration process for healthcare payor providers.”
The 2022 amendments to the AAA Healthcare Payor Provider Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures (“the Rules”) involve:
- Confer & Meet—This rule expands the preliminary hearing and scheduling order encouraging parties to meet to review exchange of information and data in advance of the preliminary hearing.
- Consolidation—The AAA has enacted a rule to consolidate existing arbitrations or the joinder of additional parties, similar to what it incorporated into the recent updates to the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures.
- Confidentiality—The reinforcement of the longstanding requirements in the AAA Code of Ethics for Arbitrators, by including a commitment from AAA staff and arbitrators to the confidentiality of arbitration in the Rules.
- Conduct of Parties & Their Representatives—The AAA’s expectations of civility and professionalism of all participants in arbitrations have been specifically incorporated into the Rules.
- Providing Arbitrators with the Authority to Interpret Awards—The AAA has drawn on recently adopted procedural regulations and will allow the arbitrator to explain the award on a party’s motion.
- Importance of Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection—Reflecting the importance the AAA places on the safety and security of user and case information, the Rules recommend that the parties and the arbitrator discuss data protection during the preliminary hearing.
Additional amendments of significance to the Rules include:
- Expansion of the preliminary hearing rule to include a meeting to confer.
- Expanding arbitral authority to determine the method of proceedings.
- Created in response to the hindrances unveiled by the COVID-19 pandemic, certain rules will grant the arbitrator express authority to necessitate the use of electronic means, including video, for part of or the entirety of the hearing.
- Strengthening of limitations on motion practice and discovery in the Expedited Procedures.
To read a more detailed explanation of the 2022 amendments to the AAA Healthcare Payor Provider Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures, please visit https://go.adr.org/2022-healthcare-rules-update.html.