In one of two major rulings Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the Biden administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most healthcare workers in the U.S. The court’s orders Thursday came during a spike in coronavirus cases caused by the omicron variant.
The decision is one with significant implications for the Twin Lakes Area.
In mid-November, Baxter Regional Medical Center officials said they would comply with a federal rule requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for its employees.
In a statement then, BRMC said under the direction of the Biden-Harris administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most healthcare settings, including hospitals and health systems that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
The interim final rule establishes a Condition of Participation that applies to most healthcare settings, including hospitals, critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, home health agencies, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers and long-term care facilities.
Under the interim final rule, all healthcare workers were to have completed the primary vaccination series by Jan. 4.
A preliminary injunction in late November blocked the CMS mandate from becoming effective.
In December, the high court announced it would hear arguments in this case and a second one requiring employees at large businesses get a vaccine or test regularly and wear a mask on the job.
In earlier comments, BRMC officials indicated the local medical facility would comply with the federal rule, citing the percentage of local patients who are on either Medicare or Medicaid, and it being much higher than average. They pointed to the high percentage as the biggest reason why the hospital said it had to comply with the mandate.
President and CEO Ron Peterson said earlier between 67-70% of the hospital’s patients are on Medicare, while the national average is around 45%. Medicaid patients at BRMC account for about 15-17% of their clients, while the national average is about 12%.
BRMC officials were not available Thursday afternoon for comment or to speak to their plan following the Supreme Court ruling.
The vaccine mandate that the court will allow to be enforced nationwide scraped by on a 5-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joining the liberals to form a majority.
The mandate covers virtually all healthcare workers in the country, applying to providers that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funding. It affects 10.4 million workers at 76,000 health care facilities as well as home health care providers. The rule has medical and religious exemptions.
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