This is an arbitration case. Linda Owens, the plaintiff in an action pending in the Etowah Circuit Court, appeals the trial court's order granting the motion filed by Coosa Valley Health Care, Inc. ("Coosa Valley"), to compel Owens to arbitrate her claims against Coosa Valley; the order also stayed discovery of Elma Tucker's medical records. We affirm.

"ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AGREEMENT

"THIS ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AGREEMENT is entered into by and between Coosa Valley Health Care, Inc. (`Nursing Home') and the undersigned Patient, Guardian and Sponsor (hereinafter known as `Patient') this the 19th day of March 2002. The meaning of `Nursing Home' for the purposes of this Agreement shall include, without limitation, Nursing Home's assignees, and Nursing Home's and assignees' respective agents, employees, officers, directors, shareholders, direct and indirect parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, predecessors and successors. The meaning of `Patient' shall include Patient and his, her or their sponsors, guardians, heirs, executors, successors, and assigns.

"In consideration of the foregoing, and as an inducement to Nursing Home to enter into Agreements with the Patient, the parties hereto agree as follows:

"(1) ALL DISPUTES, CONTROVERSIES OR CLAIMS OF ANY KIND AND NATURE BETWEEN NURSING HOME AND PATIENT ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE PATIENT WITH MEDICAL CARE, NURSING CARE, PERSONAL CARE, ROOM, BOARD, LAUNDERED LINENS, BED CLOTHING, MEDICATION OR ANY OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES, OR THE BREACH THEREOF, OR ARISING OUT OF ANY PRIOR DEALINGS BETWEEN NURSING HOME AND PATIENT, OR ARISING *Page 985 OUT OF ANY FUTURE DEALINGS BETWEEN NURSING HOME AND PATIENT, SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO ARBITRATION PURSUANT TO THE PROCEDURES SET OUT HEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, IT IS THE INTENTION OF THE PATIENT AND NURSING HOME TO RESOLVE BY BINDING ARBITRATION, ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN THEM CONCERNING ALL DISPUTES, CONTROVERSIES OR CLAIMS OF ANY KIND OR NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE PATIENT WITH MEDICAL CARE, NURSING CARE, PERSONAL CARE, ROOM, BOARD, LAUNDERED LINENS, BED CLOTHING, MEDICATION OR ANY OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES, OR THE BREACH THEREOF, OR ARISING OUT OF ANY PRIOR DEALINGS BETWEEN NURSING HOME AND PATIENT, OR ARISING OUT OF ANY FUTURE DEALINGS BETWEEN NURSING HOME AND PATIENT.

"(2) ALL DISPUTES, CONTROVERSIES OR CLAIMS OF ANY KIND AND NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO ANY AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE PATIENT WITH MEDICAL CARE, NURSING CARE, PERSONAL CARE, ROOM, BOARD, LAUNDERED LINENS, BED CLOTHING, MEDICATION OR ANY OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES, OR THE BREACH THEREOF, OR ARISING OUT OF ANY PRIOR DEALINGS BETWEEN NURSING HOME AND PATIENT, OR ARISING OUT OF ANY FUTURE DEALINGS BETWEEN NURSING HOME AND PATIENT, SHALL BE SETTLED BY ARBITRATION IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION RULES OF THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION (THE `ARBITRATION RULES OF THE AAA'), AND JUDGMENT UPON THE AWARD RENDERED BY THE ARBITRATOR(S) MAY BE ENTERED IN ANY COURT HAVING JURISDICTION THEREOF.

"(3) Nursing Home and Patient acknowledge and agree that providing to patient medical care, nursing care, personal care, room, board, laundered linens, bed clothing, medication or any other goods and services involves `commerce' as defined in the United States Arbitration Act, Title 9, United States Code, `Arbitration,' hereinafter referred to as the `USAA.'

"(4) EXCEPT AS LIMITED HEREINABOVE, NURSING HOME AND PATIENT UNDERSTAND AND AGREE (I) THAT EACH OF THEM IS WAIVING RIGHTS TO SEEK REMEDIES IN COURT, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL; (II) THAT PRE-ARBITRATION DISCOVERY IN ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS IS GENERALLY MORE LIMITED THAN AND DIFFERENT FROM COURT PROCEEDINGS; (III) THE ARBITRATORS' AWARD IS NOT REQUIRED TO INCLUDE FACTUAL FINDINGS OR LEGAL REASONING; AND (IV) EITHER PARTY'S RIGHT TO APPEAL OR TO SEEK MODIFICATION OF RULINGS BY THE ARBITRATORS IS STRICTLY LIMITED. THE VENUE FOR ARBITRATION SHALL BE IN ETOWAH COUNTY, ALABAMA.

"IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Nursing Home and Patient have agreed *Page 986 to be bound by all of the terms and provisions of this Agreement.

"COOSA VALLEY HEALTH CARE, INC. "By: /s/ Sherry Sims "/s/ Elma Tucker¹ "PATIENT

"By: /s/ Linda Owens "GUARDIAN/SPONSOR "_________________________ "GUARDIAN

"/s/ Linda Owens "SPONSOR"

(Capitalization in original.) Owens claims that there was no discussion of arbitration while she was signing the various documents necessary for Tucker's admission to the nursing home; Coosa Valley claims that the parties discussed arbitration at that time.

Elma Tucker subsequently sued Coosa Valley, alleging that Coosa Valley negligently and wantonly failed to provide adequate care at the nursing home. Following Tucker's death, Owens, as administrator of Tucker's estate, was substituted as the plaintiff.

Coosa Valley filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, to stay the proceedings and compel arbitration. Owens filed a response in opposition to arbitration. Following a hearing, the trial court granted Coosa Valley's motion to compel arbitration. This appeal followed.

II. Standard of Review

"We review de novo a trial court's ruling on a motion to compel arbitration. Green Tree Fin. Corp. v. Vintson, 753 So.2d 497, 502 (Ala. 1999). Initially, the party seeking to compel arbitration must prove 1) the existence of a contract calling for arbitration, and 2) that the contract `is "a contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce" within the meaning of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).' Citizens Bank v. Alafabco, Inc., 539 U.S. 52, 53, 123 S.Ct. 2037, 2038, 156 L.Ed.2d 46 (2003) (quoting 9 U.S.C. § 2). `[A]fter a motion to compel arbitration has been made and supported, the burden is on the non-movant to present evidence that the supposed arbitration agreement is not valid or does not apply to the dispute in question.' Jim Burke Auto., Inc. v. Beavers, 674 So.2d 1260, 1265 n. 1 (Ala. 1995)."

As noted above, it is undisputed that Owens, on behalf of Tucker, entered into the arbitration agreement with Coosa Valley.² The agreement explicitly states that it is "between Coosa Valley Health Care, Inc. . . . and the undersigned Patient, Guardian and Sponsor (hereinafter known as `Patient')." Tucker is clearly designated on the signature page as the "Patient"; Owens is clearly designated on the signature page as both "Guardian" and "Sponsor"; and the agreement states that "[t]he meaning of `Patient' shall include Patient and his, her or their sponsors, guardians, heirs, executors, successors, and assigns." There is no evidence indicating that Tucker had any objection to Owens's acting on her behalf in admitting Tucker to the nursing home. Coosa Valley has met its burden of proving the existence of a contract between Coosa Valley and Tucker calling for arbitration.

In support of its motion to compel arbitration, Coosa Valley submitted the testimony of Ted Cook, the major stockholder and incorporator of Coosa Valley; Cook's testimony indicated (1) that approximately 90% of the medical supplies were purchased for use at the nursing home from an out-of-state supplier; (2) that "nursing-home equipment" and all linens provided to patients at the nursing home were purchased directly from out-of-state suppliers in Missouri, New York, and Wisconsin; (3) that all of the medical forms used by the nursing home were purchased in Iowa and that maintenance on the "nursing home equipment" was performed by a company from California; (4) that supplies were ordered from out of state by mail, telephone, and facsimile transmissions and were shipped to Coosa Valley over various state lines; (5) that several of the patients at the nursing home are from other states; (6) that the nursing home was almost completely controlled by federal regulations and that 95% of the income received by Coosa Valley for providing nursing-home services is in federally *Page 988 funded Medicaid (80%) or Medicare³ (15%); (7) that the supplies and equipment procured from out of state were made available to Tucker pursuant to her admission agreement; and (8) that without these out-of-state supplies and equipment and federal funds, the nursing home could not have provided nursing-home services to Tucker. These undisputed facts demonstrate that the underlying transaction in this case — Coosa Valley's providing nursing-home care to Tucker — involves interstate commerce under the FAA. See McGuffey Health Rehab.Ctr. v. Gibson, 864 So.2d 1061 (Ala. 2003) (holding in a similar context that a contract for nursing-home services involved interstate commerce under the FAA even under the now abrogated but much more stringent standard set forth in Sisters of theVisitation v. Cochran Plastering Co., 775 So.2d 759 (Ala. 2000)). Furthermore, if there were any doubt as to whether providing nursing-home services to Tucker involved interstate commerce, that doubt would be put to rest by the fact that the transaction is unquestionably economic in nature, and therefore the question whether the transaction involves interstate commerce can be analyzed by examining the aggregate effect of such transactions nationwide. Service Corp. Int'l v. Fulmer,883 So.2d 621 (Ala. 2003) (noting that "purely intrastate economic or commercial transactions can be within the reach of Congress if the `"general practice" those transactions represent' has, in the aggregate, a substantial effect on interstate commerce." (quotingCitizens Bank, 539 U.S. at 58, 123 S.Ct. at 2041)). As to proving that the transaction involved interstate commerce, Coosa Valley has met its burden.⁴

Instead, Owens essentially asks us to adopt a per se rule that would find unconscionable any arbitration agreement involving a nursing home and an elderly patient in poor health; this we cannot do. Owens has not met her burden of proving that the arbitration agreement is unconscionable. Ex parte Napier,723 So.2d 49, 53 (Ala. 1998) (stating that "[u]nder general principles of law, the party asserting the defense of unconscionability has the burden of proving unconscionability").

"(5) Admissions policy

"(A) Admission

"With respect to admissions practices, a nursing facility must —

". . . .

"(iii) in the case of an individual who is entitled to medical assistance for nursing facility services [such as Medicare or Medicaid], not charge, solicit, accept, or receive, in addition to any amount otherwise required to be paid under the State plan under this subchapter, any gift, money, donation, or other consideration as a precondition of admitting . . . the individual to the facility or as a requirement for the individual's continued stay in the facility."

Owens's argument fails for at least two reasons.

First, Owens admits that there is no evidence indicating that any of Tucker's fees for nursing-home care were paid through Medicare or Medicaid. If none of Tucker's fees were paid by Medicare or Medicaid, the statute would not apply to Tucker. Second, requiring a nursing-home admittee to sign an arbitration agreement is not charging an additional fee or other consideration as a requirement to admittance. Rather, an arbitration agreement sets a forum for future disputes; both parties are bound to it and both receive whatever benefits and detriments accompany the arbitral forum. If we were to agree with Owens, virtually any contract term Owens decided she did not like could be construed as requiring "other consideration" in order to gain admittance to the nursing home and thus be disallowed by the statute. Owens's argument based on42 U.S.C. § 1396r(c)(5)(A)(iii) is without merit.

However, notwithstanding this regulation, the trial court's decision to stay discovery was clearly not erroneous, because when a trial court compels arbitration, that court is required by federal statute to stay all proceedings, see 9 U.S.C. § 3, including discovery (with an exception not relevant here)⁵ as to any claims that fall within the scope of an arbitration clause. Quality Truck Auto Sales, Inc. v.Yassine, 730 So.2d 1164, 1170 (Ala. 1999) ("Thus, because we hold that all of Yassine's claims against Quality fall within the compass of the arbitration clause, the trial court must stay discovery with respect to those claims."). Owens can certainly seek to use the conduit of 42 C.F.R. § 483.10(b)(2)(i) during the arbitration proceedings.

Because we hold that Owens's claims are due to be arbitrated, we also hold that the trial court did not err in staying discovery of Tucker's medical records.

AFFIRMED.

SEE, HARWOOD, and WOODALL, JJ., concur.

JOHNSTONE, J., concurs in the rationale in part and concurs in the judgment.

But for certain reservations about the rationale of Part III.B. (the issue of the sufficiency of the nexus to interstate commerce), I concur in the main opinion. My concurrence in Part III.B. is limited to the conclusion that, "[a]s to proving that the transaction involved interstate commerce, Coosa Valley has met its burden." 890 So.2d at 988.