Overview of COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Mandates

On Nov. 5, 2021, the Biden administration published two rules pertaining to COVID-19 vaccination and testing:

1. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to implement a COVID-19 vaccination and testing policy.
2. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) requiring healthcare workers at facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid to be fully vaccinated.

• January 2022: The U.S Supreme Court ruled on both the OSHA ETS and the CMS facilities rule. The Supreme Court blocked enforcement of the OSHA ETS but ruled that the CMS facilities rule is allowed to move forward nationally.
• Jan. 13, 2022: The Supreme Court halted the OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS) and allowed the Biden Administration to proceed with the CMS facilities mandate regarding healthcare worker COVID-19 vaccination in separate orders.

Stay up to date

MGMA Government Affairs provides updates on vaccine mandates and other regulatory and legislative developments weekly in the Washington Connection newsletter.