Regulatory Updates and Resources
Vaccine Mandate Update: On Friday, January 14th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued updated guidance to State Survey Agency Directors (QSO-22-09-ALL) related to the federal vaccine mandate following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week.
According to the updated guidance, health care workers in the states affected by the Supreme Court’s decision to allow CMS to implement its COVID-19 vaccine mandate will now have until February 14th to receive their first dose, and March 15th to receive their second. This updated timeline specifically applies to the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. CMS also says that a facility that has more than 80% of staff vaccinated and has a plan to achieve a 100% staff vaccination rate within 60 days of Feb. 14th will not be subject to enforcement actions.
This guidance did not apply to the state of Texas, as Texas had filed a separate lawsuit challenging the enforcement of the mandate. On January 19, 2022, a federal court dismissed the lawsuit in Texas and the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for health workers is now enforceable across the U.S. The deadline for the state’s compliance is unknown. In the 25 other remaining states, health care workers at Medicare and Medicaid funded facilities continue to have until January 27th to receive their first COVID-19 shot, and February 28th to receive their second, as CMS laid out in their December 28th guidance.
- A link to CMS’ December 28th vaccine mandate guidance is available HERE.
- A link to CMS’ updated vaccine mandate guidance from Friday, January 14th is available HERE.
Since this is a very fluid situation, it is subject to change. Continue to check CMS links and we will update you on any major changes.
GRS Approach to Vaccine: Our policy indicates that unless prohibited by state law, all personnel must either be fully immunized or have an approved medical or religious accommodation as follows:
- All personnel working in any service locations or who serve patients in their private homes/residences
- All personnel required to attend industry events as a representative of the Company
- All office-based personnel who regularly, routinely, or intermittently work in and/or visit Company offices
- All Company leaders at the level of Vice President or above
- All personnel will be required to comply with all local, state and federal requirements (strictest requirements prevail)
Employees who fall into a category of personnel that are required to be vaccinated, but are unvaccinated because they requested and were granted a medical or religious exemption through the Company’s exemption review process, will be required to be fit tested for and wear a company approved respirator at all times while in the service location, except during meal or beverage breaks.
In order to protect our employees' privacy in relation to protections under the Civil Rights Act and HIPAA, Genesis Rehab cannot provide the details as to the reasons for the employees' medical or religious objection to the vaccine. Staff records are maintained in our internal tracking system and able to be produced upon request, as required. Staff provides COVID vaccine data including dates of each dose and manufacturer/brand.
SNF Provider Preview Reports – Now Available: The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the April 2022 refresh of the websites.
The data contained within the Preview Reports are based on quality assessment data submitted by SNFs from Quarter 3, 2020 through Quarter 2, 2021 (4 quarters). The data for the claims-based measures will continue to display Quarter 4, 2017 through Quarter 3, 2019 data for this refresh while CMS performs additional measure analyses.
Providers have until February 14, 2022, to review their performance data. Corrections to the underlying data will not be permitted during this time. However, providers can request Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) review of their data during the preview period if they believe the quality measure scores that are displayed within their Preview Reports are inaccurate.
For more information, please visit the CMS SNF QRP Public Reporting website.
Public Health Emergency: On January 14, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Xavier Becerra, extended the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) for an additional 90 days, effective Sunday, January 16th, 2022, which is the date that the current PHE was set to expire. The new expiration date for the COVID-19 PHE is now set for Saturday, April 16, 2022.
Solutions 2022 webinar series: See attachment.
Current Age In Motion® newsletter: See attachment.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Genesis Rehab Services Clinical Operations Area Director.
