The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care providers to proceed. The rule requires nursing homes, hospitals, and certain other participants in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to vaccinate all non-exempt staff[1] against COVID-19. In a separate ruling, the Court blocked the enforcement of a broader rule from the U.S....
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday announced new dates for nursing homes in Wisconsin and 24 other states to comply with the mandate to vaccinate all non-exempt staff against COVID-19. It also announced plans for survey enforcement. Within 30 days of Tuesday’s directive,[1] these nursing homes must have developed policies and procedures and 100% of non-exempt...
After being blocked this month by a federal judge in Louisiana, the COVID vaccination mandate for nursing home staff has been reinstated in Wisconsin and 25 other states, at least for now. The background: In November the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services required nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid to have staff fully vaccinated by January 4 (except for staff with...
The federal requirement that nursing homes vaccinate staff against COVID-19 is on hold temporarily after a judge’s ruling this week in Louisiana. The ruling, coming amid concerns over the omicron variant of the coronavirus, could ease pressure on nursing homes facing staffing shortages but for now leaves vaccination rules in an uncertain status. In November, the Centers for Medicare &...
On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, litigation pending in several federal circuits regarding the federal vaccine/testing mandate described below was consolidated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Below, we summarize the mandate, discuss the various court developments, and provide guidance as to steps employers could take while the legal challenges continue. OSHA Issues ETS Mandate...
Nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid must have all non-exempt staff fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than January 4, 2022, under an emergency regulation issued November 4. Exemptions are allowed for staff with certain recognized medical conditions or religious beliefs. The emergency regulation, issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, complements a...
By: Anne V. O'Meara and Laurie E. Meyer On August 18th, President Biden announced that his Administration will require nursing homes to mandate staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for facilities to receive funding from Medicare and Medicaid. This new requirement would apply to nearly 15,000 nursing home facilities, which employ approximately 1.6 million workers and serve...
By: Alec Dobson Long-term care facilities face increased potential for daily fines for non-compliance, rather than single fines, under recent action by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Daily fines had been more common until the Trump Administration, in July 2017, instructed regulators to typically impose civil monetary penalties only on a per-instance basis, rather than for each...
The federal government this week issued updated guidelines to nursing homes for COVID-19 prevention and control, including new recommendations regarding visitation, physical distancing, and quarantining. In issuing the updated recommendations on March 29, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stressed that even as nursing homes relax restrictions they must remain vigilant for COVID...
With millions of COVID-19 vaccinations having been administered to nursing home residents and staff, the federal government is now encouraging in-person visitation in nursing homes. On March 10, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its guidance to facilities regarding in-person visitation. Importantly, the updated memorandum, QSO-20-39-NH Revised (“CMS Memo”),...
