Not all, but many. On Nov. 5, 2021, CMS published an interim rule in the Federal Register establishing COVID-19 vaccination requirements that most Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. After a stay on the rule was lifted, new guidance was issued on Dec. 28, 2021, with extended compliance dates. On Jan. 14, 2022, additional guidance was issued and FAQs were released on Jan. 20, 2022, with compliance dates by state.
CMS also stated that within 90 days of the issuance of its applicable updated guidance (on December 28, 2021 or January 14, 2022, respectively), employers that fail to maintain compliance may be subject to enforcement action.
Covered employers must establish a process or policy to meet the vaccination requirements over two phases:
- For Phase 1, employees must have received—at a minimum—the first dose of a primary series or a single dose COVID-19 vaccine.
- For Phase 2, employees must complete the primary vaccination series (except for those who have been granted exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine or those staff for whom COVID-19 vaccination must be temporarily delayed, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Full-time remote workers are excluded from the requirements.
Due to injunctions having been lifted on various dates for different states, there are now three groups subject to different compliance dates:
Group 1: District of Columbia, the U.S. territories, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Group 2: 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, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Group 3: Texas.
| Group 1 | Jan. 27, 2022 | Feb. 28, 2022 |
| Group 2 | Feb. 14, 2022 | Mar. 15, 2022 |
| Group 3 | Feb. 22, 2022 | Mar. 21, 2022 |
CMS has provided FAQs to help employers comply with the requirements. See CMS Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule.
CMS also has a slide presentation on the rule that may be helpful to review. See Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule with Comment, and a webcast, Healthcare COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination.
