The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has set a new deadline for the states that were plaintiffs in the cases decided this week by the U.S. Supreme Court. The deadlines for the 25 states who had not been involved in the lawsuits remain unchanged.
Prior to Thursday’s decision by the high court, the plaintiff states had been under preliminary injunctions ordered by federal judges in Missouri and Louisiana, meaning that CMS could not implement the rule until the lawsuits were ultimately decided. These states will now need to establish plans and procedures to ensure their staff are vaccinated in place within 30 days and to have their employees receive the shots needed for full vaccination by March 15.
“Hospices must have a process for ensuring all staff have received at least a single-dose, or the first dose of a multi-dose COVID-19 vaccine series prior to providing any care, treatment, or other services for the facility and/or its patients,” CMS said in the new guidance. “The policy must also ensure those staff who are not yet fully vaccinated, or who have been granted an exemption or accommodation as authorized by law, or who have a temporary delay, adhere to additional precautions that are intended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
The agency indicated that anything less than 100% staff vaccination would be considered non-compliance. For hospices, potential penalties could include monetary fines, denial or payments or termination of the providers’ participation in Medicare or Medicaid, which CMS said would be a last resort. Health care providers would have an opportunity to take corrective action to ensure compliance prior to such a termination.
The new deadlines apply to Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Texas remains under preliminary injunction, a CMS spokesperson told Hospice News in an email.
In all other states and the District of Columbia, hospice staff covered by the regulation must receive one dose by Jan. 27 and be fully vaccinated by Feb. 26.
“Vaccines are proven to reduce the risk of severe disease,” CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a statement. The prevalence of the virus and its ever-evolving variants in health care settings continues to increase the risk of staff contracting and transmitting COVID-19, putting their patients, families, and our broader communities at risk.”
