Update Applicable to:
All employers with Medicare and Medicaid-certified healthcare employees.
What happened?
On November 5, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) requiring mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of Medicare and Medicaid-certified healthcare providers and suppliers.
What are the details?
Per the IFR, employers must establish a policy ensuring all eligible staff (existing and new) 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 December 5, 2021, and all eligible employees must be fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022.
The rule also will require facilities to allow for medical or religious exemptions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and employers have flexibility as to how employees seek exemptions.
For more information, please see the links below:
What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links above and prepare to make adjustments to their COVID-19 vaccination policy to comply with the new rule.
