The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance on evaluating providers’ compliance with the federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers.
Although CMS originally published the interim final rule in November, it posted the guidance for state survey agency directors on Tuesday. Broadly, the guidance applies to providers working under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including home health agencies.
As a condition of participation, CMS requires staff members at home health agencies to receive one COVID-19 vaccine dose by Jan. 27. Workers then must be fully vaccinated by Feb. 26.
The goal is for all agencies to achieve a 100% vaccination rate.
“CMS expects all facilities’ staff to have received the appropriate number of doses by the
timeframes specified in this memorandum unless exempted as required by law,” CMS wrote. “Facility staff vaccination rates under 100% constitute non-compliance under the rule.”
In order to be compliant with CMS, agencies must develop and implement policies and procedures to guarantee that their staff is fully vaccinated. CMS defines staff as, “individuals who provide any care, treatment, or other services for the [agency],” or its patients, including employees. The guidance applies to clinical staff, as well as students, trainees and volunteers.
CMS also provided details on what an agency’s policies and procedures should look like. This includes a process for tracking and documenting vaccination status, a process for vaccine exemption requests and more.
Surveying for compliance will begin 30 days after CMS’s memorandum was issued.
From 30 to 60 days, agencies are expected to be at an 80% vaccination rate in order to be compliant. From 60 to 90 days, agencies are expected to be at a 90% vaccination rate. Once it reaches 90 days, agencies are expected to be at a 100% vaccination rate.
CMS’s guidance is for providers operating in the 26 states that are subject to the elimination of a temporary injunction that halted the vaccination rule.
The guidance currently does not apply to agencies in: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
In fact, CMS clarifies that surveyors in these states should not implement or enforce a vaccine mandate.
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