The Supreme Court hears oral arguments this week on the CMS rule mandating that staff working for Medicare or Medicaid certified providers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with narrow exceptions for religious and medical reasons. The rule was enjoined by a court order in 25 states, but CMS announced at the end of December that it would start enforcing the new rule in the states where it could.
However, our question is does anyone know how serious CMS is in implementing this rule? In today’s political environment there is a ton of bluster with little accomplishments. We have seen the government and its agencies make bold declarations and new rules, sometimes with a wink to their legality, but when the time comes to implement, there are often delays and exemptions, or enjoinments. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the issue of vaccine mandates will surely be litigated further, delaying or altering whatever rules until there hopefully comes a time when COVID panic is reduced to a nuisance, or better yet, a memory. And if CMS gets their way, what exactly will the penalties look like?
We think most would agree that a vaccinated healthcare staff is a good idea, but the threat of blanket firing 10%, 15% or 20% of skilled nursing staff (especially when vaccines cannot prevent the transmission of COVID-19 to patients) when facilities are straining to care for the fewer patients they already have is not good for the industry or for patients. And the uncertainty of the rule’s future (state by state) is not good either.
