CMS Will Take Step Approach for Nursing Home Non-Compliance with Staff Vaccination Requirements

Modern Healthcare is reporting that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrators said this week that CMS will not immediately remove nursing homes from Medicare and Medicaid if they do not adhere to the employee staff vaccination requirement that was announced last week. CMS will take a step approach, first notifying nursing homes if they are not compliant with the requirement, then assessing civil monetary penalties for continued non-compliance, then denying payment and ultimately removing the nursing homes from the program. The staffing vaccination requirement is expected to take effect in September, but CMS is still in the rulemaking process.