01/14/2022

Supreme Court Blocks OSHA’s Vaccine; Allows Requirements for Healthcare Workers

Analysis by Legal and HME Industry Sources

The following are several articles we've gathered with breaking analysis on the vaccination mandates.  OAMES thanks these organizations for providing this timely information and resources:

VGM Government Relations (1/13/2022) - Supreme Court Blocks Biden's Workplace Vaccine Rules, Allows Requirements for Healthcare Workers

Dinsmore article (1/13/2022) - Supreme Court Blocks Enforcement of OSHA's COVID-19 Vaccine Emergency Standard for Large Employers

Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs (1/14/2022) - Supreme Court Blocks OSHA's Vaccine or Testing Mandate; Lifts CMS Injunctions

Additionally, the American Association for Homecare released the following article today (1/14/2022):

"Supreme Court Decision on Two Federal Vaccine Mandates"

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court blocked enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Emergency Temporary Standard (OSHA ETS) as litigation continues in the lower courts. OSHA issued a statement on the Supreme Court’s decision and removed enforcement activity information off their website. 

Conversely, the Supreme Court upheld enforcement of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Interim Final Rule (CMS IFR) that mandates vaccines for certain covered health care providers. In their press release, CMS noted that the vaccine mandate for covered facilities is reactivated in all the states. This will mean the health care facilities in 24 states that were excluded from the December 28 guidance will now be required to move forward with enforcing a fully vaccinated staff.  The states include: 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.

DMEPOS suppliers are not covered under the CMS IFR, but suppliers that have employees working on behalf of a covered facility will be impacted by this vaccine mandate.