August 19, 2021 | less than a minute read

CMS to Use Power of Purse to Mandate Vaccines for Nursing Home Staff

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Ryan Meyer

Partner

Get in touch

Ryan Meyer

Partner

The Biden Administration has announced that CMS is drafting a new rule to take effect as early as September 2021 that would condition continued Medicare and Medicaid funding for nursing homes on their staffs being vaccinated. This will likely have significant impact on vendors and providers that interact with nursing homes (since the homes are likely to require that any of their service providers also have their staffs vaccinated) and, more significantly, is unlikely to be last time that CMS uses its funding clout to spur greater vaccinations across the US health care industry.

The administration plans to issue a new regulation through the Department of Health and Human Services that would make Medicare and Medicaid funding for nursing homes conditional on their staffs being vaccinated.