On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court permitted the vaccine mandate for health care workers in facilities regulated by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Specifically, the CMS vaccine mandate requires all staff of facilities participating in Medicare/Medicaid to be vaccinated. These facilities include, but are not limited to the following types of Medicare/Medicaid facilities: hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, dialysis facilities, home health agencies, clinics, rehabilitation agencies, outpatient physical therapy and speech-language therapy clinics, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, FQHCs, and programs of all-inclusive care for the elderly.
Under current guidance, on or before January 27, 2022, all facilities covered by the CMS mandate must require that its staff receive their first dose of the vaccine, except for those individuals with a pending exemption request, and implement policies to ensure staff are vaccinated. Staff must be fully vaccinated by February 28, 2022. The CMS vaccine mandate does not permit covered facilities to allow staff to “test out” of the vaccine mandate.
Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the Occupation Safety and Health Administration’s vaccine mandate for larger employers. Accordingly, employers covered by this regulation do not need to take further action at this time.
Healthcare employers who would like to determine if they are covered by the CMS Mandate, or would like assistance putting together policies, should contact the Garfunkel Wild attorney with whom you regularly work, or contact us at [email protected].