CMS Revises COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination Requirements

With the end of the public health emergency (PHE), CMS is adjusting its approach to COVID-19 prevention to align with that of other infectious diseases such as influenza. To that end, CMS published a final rule June 5 revising three interim final rules issued during the PHE relating to COVID-19 vaccination and testing. The revised rules are:

• Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination: This November 5, 2021 regulation required staff and suppliers in Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The new final rule withdraws language requiring healthcare personnel (HCP) COVID-19 vaccination.
• COVID-19 Vaccine “Educate and Offer” Requirements for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF-IID): This regulation, issued May 13, 2021, required LTC facilities and ICFs-IID to educate residents, clients and staff and offer COVID-19 vaccines to those populations. The new final rule finalizes the “educate and offer” requirements on a permanent basis in order to align CMS COVID-19 vaccination requirements for these populations with existing requirements for other infectious diseases.
• COVID-19 Testing Requirement for LTC Facilities: This September 2, 2020 regulation required LTC facilities to test their staff and residents for COVID-19 for the duration of the PHE. With the expiration of the PHE on May 11, 2023, CMS is deleting the text related to LTC facility testing requirements.

Read the CMS final rule.