CMS Releases Guidance on Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance on the Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule that was published on Nov. 5, 2021. The emergency regulation requires vaccinations for eligible staff at health care facilities participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. 

The staff vaccination requirement applies to Medicare- and Medicaid-certified provider and supplier types, including Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Community Mental Health Centers, Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, Critical Access Hospitals, Hospices, Hospitals, Clinics, and Long-Term Care facilities, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).  

Currently, the implementation and enforcement of this regulation does not apply to Ohio and 24 other states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota,  Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Facilities in these states are not required to comply with the rule, pending future developments in the litigation. 

The rule currently applies to facilities participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs in the remaining 25 states, the District of Columbia, and territories. Facilities covered by this regulation (but not in the enjoined states) must establish a policy ensuring all eligible staff have received the first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine or a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine prior to providing any care, treatment, or other services by January 27 (30 days following the publication of the guidance). All eligible staff must have received the necessary shots to be fully vaccinated – either two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson – by February 28 (60 days following the publication of the guidance).

More information, including PDFs for all facilities and each individually, is available on the CMS website here. A FAQ document created by CMS is also available.