HHS appeals block on healthcare worker vaccine mandate – Healthcare Finance News
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Unhappy about a federal court decision that put the brakes on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ national vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, the Department of Health and Human Services has filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
On Nov. 4, in a rule that followed through on President Joe Biden’s mandate issued in September, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services required all healthcare workers in facilities that accepted Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to be fully vaccinated by January 4.
Noncompliant facilities would risk losing Medicare and Medicaid funding. There would be no exceptions that allow for weekly testing.
The federal government overstepped its authority because the mandate was not authorized by Congress, said Judge Matthew T. Schlep of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
“Because this mandate significantly alters the balance between federal and state power, only a clear authorization from Congress would empower CMS,” Schlep said in the order. “Given the vast economic and political significance of this vaccine mandate, only a clear authorization from Congress would empower CMS to act.”
On Nov. 12, plaintiff states Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota and New Hampshire filed a request for a preliminary injunction to stop the federal government from imposing the mandate. They also want a permanent injunction, claiming staffing shortages that would jeopardize patient safety.
WHAT’S THE IMPACT?
HHS did not provide further comment on its appeal, but the argument promoted by the Biden Administration is that a vaccine mandate would protect staff and patient health and curb the spread of COVID-19 and its variants, including the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
The states that filed the lawsuit claim that resulting staffing shortages would not only threaten care quality, but could result in no care at all, as some facilities will be forced to close altogether.
Also, CMS lacked evidence showing that vaccination status has a direct impact on spreading COVID-19 in healthcare facilities, other than data it has on long-term care facilities, the lawsuit said.
CMS failed to adequately consider the interests of the facilities, healthcare workers and patients in favor of those interested in the mandate because it placed a rock on one side of the scale and a feather on the other, according to the complaint.
The judge also disagreed with the federal government’s claim that the court lacked jurisdiction over the case.
THE LARGER TREND
When President Biden announced the vaccine requirement in September, the country was facing a spike in COVID-19 infections driven by the Delta variant. The requirement would apply to approximately 76,000 providers and cover more than 17 million healthcare workers across the country.
Numerous hospitals and health systems have issued their own vaccine mandates for staff. In late November, the World Health Organization declared the Omicron variant a “variant of concern.”
In another ruling against Biden’s mandate, Louisiana Western District U.S. Judge Terry Doughty also blocked the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in several states. But Doughty added a nationwide injunction, according to the daily advertiser.
Also, Missouri, Montana, Arizona and Nebraska co-led an 11-state coalition in filing a lawsuit against the Biden administration to halt the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on private employers with more than 100 employees.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
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