Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Biden v. Missouri, CMS will require several states to be compliant with the “Phase 1” requirements of its Interim Final Rule (“IFC”) as of January 27, 2022. These states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. As elaborated in our prior guidance following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Phase 1 requires that the staff of healthcare providers subject to the IFC must have received, at a minimum, their first dose of a primary series or a single dose COVID-19 vaccine or been granted a lawful exemption prior to providing any care, treatment, or other services for the facility and/or its patients. Providers must also have developed and implemented appropriate policies and procedures to ensure staff compliance.

Providers in remaining states have until February 14, 2022 to implement Phase 1 requirements, excepting Texas healthcare providers, who have until February 22, 2022. Butler Snow attorneys stand ready to assist healthcare providers in implementing policies and procedures to ensure compliance of their programs with the IFC’s requirements.