Health care facilities and nursing homes awaiting CMS requirements for staff COVID-19 vaccinations

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has announced its intention to release an interim final rule over the course of the next several weeks to require hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, dialysis facilities and all Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities to vaccinate staff as a condition for participating in Medicare and Medicaid.

The announcement was made after CMS initiated the development of similar regulations last month, requiring staff vaccinations for Medicare and Medicaid-participating nursing homes.

CMS strongly encourages nursing homes and certified Medicare and Medicaid facilities to act now in the best interest of residents, patients and staff by again ramping up the vaccination process as the agency undergoes the necessary steps in the rule-making process. Facilities and nursing homes are urged to use all available resources to support resident, patient and staff vaccinations, including providing education and convenient vaccination clinics, as they work to meet new federal requirements.