AHA urges CMS to use discretion, offer flexibility in COVID-19 vaccine mandate enforcement

The AHA in comments today to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on its interim final rule for its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for hospitals and other participants in the Medicare and Medicaid program urged the agency to be flexible as it begins enforcement. Such flexibility and discretion in CMS’ enforcement, AHA said, will help mitigate uncertainty as court challenges to the mandate persist, while enabling hospitals and health systems to navigate workforce challenges without disrupting patient care. AHA also asked CMS to provide clarification for the agency’s complex, broad-sweeping interpretive guidance, including developing a means for hospitals to quickly get answers to their questions on compliance with the interim final rule.