Vaccine Mandates & Your Practice

by  Wyn Staheli, Director of Content - innoviHealth
Feb 14th, 2022

These last few months have been quite the roller-coaster ride in relation to vaccine mandates issued by government entities. It’s been quite a challenge to keep track of all the ups and downs. Are they on, off, or on hold? What applies to whom? The answers to these questions actually depends on several factors including the type of organization and the state-specific laws.

Federal Vaccine Mandate Requirements

When it comes to federal requirements, it’s important to keep in mind that the January 2022 Supreme court ruling ONLY applies to facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid (see “Type of Organization” below) . It did NOT uphold the mandate issued by OSHA. 

CMS responded to this ruling with a memorandum which includes updated guidance depending on the state where the facility is located (as noted in the section “Why do some states have later deadlines than others?” in the CMS FAQ page). There are two phases to meet compliance.

Note: For more comprehensive information about state-specific deadlines and other answers to many commonly asked questions, CLICK HERE to review the CMS FAQ which was updated on January 20, 2022.

The following are some key items to note:

• Rules apply to all individuals working at the eligible facility, even if they do NOT have patient contact. This includes employees, contracted providers, licensed practitioners, students, trainees, or volunteers.
• Individual exemptions are allowed if the employee is not vaccinated due to medical or religious reasons (as defined by law).

States not listed above “are expected to continue under the timeframes and parameters identified in the December 28, 2021 memorandum.” There are two phases. The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine must be administered by the deadline listed for phase 1. The second dose must be administered by the deadline listed in phase 2. 

Reminder: Individual employers are allowed by law to establish their own vaccine requirements which must meet the standards as noted by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. See Section K.1., COVID-19 Vaccinations:  EEO Overview, for more information. 

The following articles have some comprehensive information about these changes:

• US Supreme Court Lifts Injunctions of CMS Vaccine Mandate
• Mandatory Employee Vaccines – Coming to A State Near You?

Type of Organization

As mentioned previously, the CMS mandate applies ONLY to Medicare and Medicaid-certified health facilities. The problem with the original mandate, which led to legal challenges, was that CMS didn’t have authority to regulate any other organizations in this manner. The following information defines which Medicare and Medicaid-certified health facilities fall under this ruling: