January 13, 2022 Update: 
On January 13, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the healthcare vaccination mandate allowing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to proceed with enforcement of its interim rule that was published on November 5, 2021. 

December 30, 2021 Update:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its Interim Final Rule FAQs. The update includes noting that CMS will be exercising enforcement discretion and will begin monitoring and enforcing compliance on the following modified timeline:

• January 27, 2022: Phase 1 Deadline
• February 28, 2022: Phase 2 Deadline

Original Post: November 9, 2021
On November 5, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its interim final rule requiring health care workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

These requirements apply to Medicare and Medicaid-certified provider and supplier types that are regulated under the Medicare health and safety standards, including hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities. Facilities covered by this regulation must establish a policy ensuring that all eligible staff have received the first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine or a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine prior to providing any care, treatment or other services by December 6, 2021. All eligible staff must have received the necessary shots to be fully vaccinated—either two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson—by January 4, 2022.

The regulation provides for exemptions based on recognized medical conditions or religious beliefs. Facilities must develop a similar process or plan for permitting exemptions in alignment with federal law. However, there is no weekly testing exception for unvaccinated workers.

There are two important deadlines health care facilities should be aware of:

• By December 6, 2021, facilities must establish a policy ensuring all eligible staff members have received at least the first dose of a two-dose vaccine or a one-dose vaccine prior to providing any care, treatment or other services.
• By January 4, 2022, all eligible staff must be fully vaccinated.

The CMS, which enforces the vaccination requirement, says the rule affects nearly 76,000 facilities and covers over 17 million health care workers. The rule applies to all health facility employees, regardless of position.

Among the facility types covered by the rule are hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, dialysis facilities, home health agencies, and long-term care facilities.

The CMS rule preempts any inconsistent state and local laws.

For additional guidance including a listing of questions and answers, please refer to the CMS Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule PDF.