Note: The information in this post was accurate as of December 17, 2021.
CMS vaccine mandate.
The CMS vaccine mandate is back on in 26 states – sort of.
On Wednesday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision partially reversing a nationwide injunction on the rule that required staff of many Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers to receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 6, 2021. In the 14 states named in the lawsuit in question, Louisiana v. Becerra, the injunction still is in effect.
There are an additional 10 states named in a separate suit, Missouri v. Biden, that also entered an injunction that applies to those states only.
What This Means for the CMS Vaccine Mandate
At the moment, enforcement of the CMS vaccine mandate is still in a holding pattern.
Because of the pending lawsuits and injunctions, activities related to implementing and enforcing the mandate are on hold. CMS on Dec. 2 issued guidance to state surveyors that they must not survey providers for compliance with the mandate, so there’s no way for CMS to know whether workers are getting vaccinated.
This applies even to states where the mandate isn’t enjoined by the courts.
Guidance from CMS on how providers should proceed on the matter hasn’t been released. However, because the courts can move quickly to stay or enforce injunctions, your practice should be ready to put into place any policies and procedures needed to comply with the mandate.
Below is a list of states where the CMS vaccine mandate is paused:
Even though the fate of federal vaccine mandates for healthcare professionals is still up in the air, if you would like to receive expert advice on how they were expected to proceed, a recent Healthcare Training Leader session will help: CMS Staff Vaccination Mandate: Cut Through the Confusion & Comply. Labor attorney Bryan Meek, Esq., gives step-by-step guidance to help your practice prepare for the CMS vaccine mandate roll-out.
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