November 29, 2021 | Cole Karr

A federal court temporarily paused Monday implementation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) workplace COVID vaccination rule in 10 states - including Wyoming, a NSDC Member State.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled CMS cannot continue, for now, with implementation in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming - all states which brought the lawsuit against the Biden Administration to stop the CMS mandate. The stay will remain in place until further arguments can be heard on the case.

The decision is contrary to a November 20 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida decision against pausing the rule, indicating a divide in court opinions.

In the likely event of a Biden Administration appeal, the Missouri case would go before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit with potentially broader implications.

In the meantime, special districts receiving CMS funding in all other states should continue moving forward with compliance measures.

The CMS rule requires all workers in healthcare settings participating in Medicare and/or Medicaid services to be vaccinated. The rule does not provide an option for weekly tests. CMS' rule requires all clinical and non-clinical employees to receive their first vaccine does by this Sunday, December 5, and be fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022. Testing in lieu of vaccination is not an option under the rule. Religious and medical exemptions apply (read more about these exemptions here).

Click here for a November 18 CMS FAQ document covering the rule.

NSDC will continue tracking this developing stories and inform members as news breaks.