Leadership | 09.20.21
Biden Administration Announces Vaccine Mandates for Medicare and Medicaid Facilities
by NAMSS Staff
On September 9, 2021, President Joseph Biden announced a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for all staff employed by Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities. This mandate extends from the Biden Administration’s existing emergency mandates that all nursing home personnel be fully vaccinated to continue to work. This new mandate is a part of a series of vaccine-related requirements that President Biden laid out in his Path Out of the Pandemic: COVID-19 Action Plan. The Action Plan responds to the increasing number of COVID-19 infection rates among unvaccinated individuals and the resulting healthcare shortages.
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) emphasized the importance of the COVID-19 vaccination in preventing spread and additional, more contagious variants. “We know that those working in health care want to do what is best for their patients in order to keep them safe….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. 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.”
CMS will issue an interim final rule for this mandate in October and will continue to encourage “…certified Medicare and Medicaid facilities to act in the best interest of patients and staff by complying with new COVID-19 vaccination requirements.”
Additional resources on Federal COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Mandates: