On November 30, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana halted the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers at certified Medicare and Medicaid providers and suppliers. The decision applies not just to the fourteen states that were parties to the lawsuit but to all healthcare workers nationwide. The court reasoned that unvaccinated healthcare workers in states other than those party to the suit also needed protection. Following the decision, CMS issued a memorandum on December 2, 2021 announcing that it would suspend enforcement of the vaccine mandate while the injunction is in effect.

As previously reported, CMS’s interim final rule requires staff at 21 types of healthcare facilities and service providers that participate in Medicare or Medicaid programs to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 4, 2022. Under the interim final rule, healthcare staff and others providing services to these facilities must receive the first dose of the vaccine prior to December 6, 2021 and be fully vaccinated or receive a medical or religious exemption by January 4, 2022.

Reporter, Nicholas Kump, Sacramento, +1 916 321 4817, nkump@kslaw.com.