CMS suspends enforcement of COVID-19 vaccine mandate

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will not enforce its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers while enjoined by district courts in Missouri and Louisiana, the agency confirmed yesterday in a memorandum. CMS said it has suspended activities related to implementation and enforcement of the interim final rule pending future developments in the litigation. It also said surveyors must not survey health care providers for compliance with the rule’s requirements while these preliminary injunctions are in effect. The memorandum does not state what CMS would do when and if the preliminary injunctions are stayed, such as whether it will set new compliance dates.  

A federal district court in Louisiana this week issued a preliminary injunction placing a temporary hold on enforcement of the mandate in all states except 10 that were already covered by a Missouri court’s preliminary injunction. For the latest legal developments related to the CMS rule, read the blog by AHA outside counsel Sean Marotta, a partner at Hogan Lovells.