Last Updated: Sep 22, 2021
Beginning the week of September 20, 2021, the Biden Administration will make some updates to vaccination requirements for healthcare settings:
- Vaccination will be required for ALL Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities
- CMS/CDC will require employees of nursing homes, hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical centers and home health agencies to be vaccinated in order to continue participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs
- All clinical staff, individuals providing services under arrangements, volunteers and staff who are not involved in direct patient/resident/client care must be vaccinated to remain compliant with Medicare/Medicaid programs
- Booster vaccines will be available the week of 09/20/21 – recipients must be 8 months post-second dose
- 100% federal reimbursement to states eligible for COVID-19 emergency response costs
- Continued 100% federal reimbursement to states for mobilizing National Guard personnel to support COVID-19 response efforts
CMS is developing an Interim Final Rule with Comment Period that will be issued in October.
In response to whether these requirements will include physician practices and offices. Conditions of participation issued by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) affect healthcare facilities and not physician practices. CMS is developing regulations to implement the Biden Administration’s directive for expanded vaccination requirements. PAMED will provide updates if physician practices and offices are included in these forthcoming regulations or additional information from CMS indicates that physician offices are subject to these expanded vaccination requirements.