(November 2021) – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the interim final rule with a comment period requiring COVID-19 vaccination of eligible staff at health care facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs. The requirements apply to approximately 76,000 providers and cover more than 17 million health care workers across the country. The requirement impacts those Medicare entities regulated by CMS (such as hospitals, hospices, rural health clinics, etc.).

All eligible staff are required to have their first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine or a one-dose vaccine by Dec. 5, 2021, before providing any care, treatment or other services. Full vaccination for all staff is required by Jan. 4, 2022. This timeline matches that of the OSHA-ETS for employers of more than 100 persons and the updated timeline for federal contractors. The Interim Final Rule with Comment Period in the Federal Register is available for download. External FAQs are posted to the CMS Current Emergencies page under Clinical & Technical Guidance for all health care providers.

The Kansas Hospital Association and our legal counsel are working on a number of resources for KHA members as they address the federal vaccine mandate. Resources will include sample language for policies and procedures, internal and external talking points, and additional resources such as language around exemptions, etc. We will push these resources out as soon as they are available, with many ready by Friday, Nov. 12. Resources on the vaccine mandate, including the toolkit and previously released information from CMS, are online.