As an update to our Jan. 13, 2022 law bulletin, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is now proceeding with monitoring and enforcement of the CMS Vaccine Interim Final Rule (IFR) in all states. 

The U.S. Supreme Court order on Jan. 13 led to a series of regulatory announcements and lower court action. CMS first issued guidance explaining the 24 states impacted by the U.S. Supreme Court order must meet the Phase 1 compliance deadline under the CMS Vaccine IFR by Feb. 14, 2022. At that point, the only state that hadn’t had an enforcement date announced was Texas, given an injunction was still in place pursuant to a District Court order. Last week the Texas case was dismissed. Accordingly, CMS is now also proceeding with monitoring and enforcement in Texas. The Phase 1 deadline for Texas is Feb. 22, 2022. 

CMS continues to update its Frequently Asked Questions on the CMS IFR, available on the CMS site here.

If you have questions about the effect of the CMS vaccine mandate on your employees or health care facility, please reach out to an attorney in Taft’s Health Care practice group or Taft’s COVID-19 Task Force.