Administration expands vaccination requirements for health care settings

WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris administration will require COVID-19 vaccination of staff within all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities, including HME providers, to protect both them and patients from the virus and its more contagious Delta variant, CMS announced on Sept. 9. 

CMS, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says emergency regulations requiring vaccinations for nursing home workers will be expanded to include hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings and home health agencies, among others, as a condition for participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.  

“As the Delta variant strengthens, the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to doing everything we can to keep patients, and those who care for them, safe,” said Xavier Becerra, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “There is no question that staff, across any health care setting, who remain unvaccinated pose both direct and indirect threats to patient safety and population health. Ensuring safety and access to all patients, regardless of their entry point into the health care system, is essential.” 

CMS is developing an Interim Final Rule with comment period that will be issued in October.   

In the agency’s review of available data, it is seeing lower staff vaccination rates among hospital and End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) facilities. To combat this issue, it is using its authority to establish vaccine requirements for all providers and suppliers that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. 

“Data show that the higher the level of vaccination rates among providers and staff, the lower the infection rate is among patients who are dependent upon them for care,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, CMS Administrator. “Now is the time to act. I’m urging everyone, but especially those fighting this virus on the front lines, to get vaccinated and protect themselves, their families, and their patients from COVID-19.”