The Biden administration has softened its language in an updated guidance on COVID-19 vaccination enforcement, telling surveyors to not cite nursing homes so long as “good faith efforts” are being made to vaccinate all their staff.
In a memo (pdf) released Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) says it still expects all long-term care and skilled nursing facilities to make sure their staff are vaccinated, unless otherwise exempted by law. A facility with “unexcepted staff” vaccination rates below 100 percent is considered noncompliant, and as a result, can risk being stripped of federal Medicare and Medicaid funds.
