The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) halted its vaccination mandate for healthcare workers until legal challenges are resolved. An injunction, issued by a federal judge in Louisiana on November 30, expanded a separate order the day before by a federal judge in Missouri that temporarily halted the mandate in ten states.
The mandate required healthcare facilities paid by Medicare and Medicaid to establish a policy ensuring workers were fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022. As we previously reported, while O&P providers are not included in the list of facilities subject to the CMS rule, facility compliance included any entities that have access to their facility and patient populations, which would include O&P practitioners who provide services at hospitals and rehabilitation and long-term care facilities, for example.
CMS said it “remains confident in its authority to protect the health and safety of patients in facilities certified by the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
