On September 9, 2021, CMS and the Biden Administration announced that the emergency regulation requiring vaccinations for nursing home workers will be expanded to additional health care providers that receive Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement. The regulatory expansion includes but is not limited to hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings, and home health agencies. These requirements will apply to approximately 50,000 providers. They cover most health care workers across the country.
In addition to clinical staff, this regulation will apply to individuals providing services under arrangements, volunteers, and staff who are not involved in direct patient, resident, or client care. CMS is developing an Interim Final Rule with Comment Period that will be issued in October. CMS issued an Interim Final Rule with Comment Period regarding nursing home staff vaccine requirements, CMS-3414-IFC, in May 2021, and the comment period ended in July. CMS plans to issue the Interim Final Rule requiring staff vaccinations by the nation’s more than 15,000 Medicare and Medicaid participating nursing homes sometime in September.
The CMS announcement regarding the expanded vaccination requirements may be found at the following link:
Biden-Harris Administration to Expand Vaccination Requirements for Health Care Settings | CMS
For additional information regarding the Biden Administration’s Covid-19 Action Plan, including new regulations for vaccination of healthcare and other workers, see the link below:
President Biden’s COVID-19 Plan | The White House
Advis remains at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic and our experts will continue to analyze the impact on providers.
For any questions or assistance to your organization in all matters of COVID-19 response, contact us online or at (708) 478-7030.
Published: September 14, 2021