Medicare orders nursing homes to track worker vaccinations

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Tuesday issued a rule that now requires long-term care facilities to report weekly COVID-19 vaccination status data for both residents and staff. 

CMS says the new vaccination reporting requirement “will not only assist in monitoring uptake amongst residents and staff, but will also aid in identifying facilities that may be in need of additional resources and/or assistance to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Nursing homes were hot spots during the early part of the pandemic and continue to face threats as such facilities serve a vulnerable population, experts have said.

The goal is to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence and acceptance among these individuals and the staff who serve them, according to a statement.

Such facilities are already required to report COVID-19 testing, case and mortality data for residents and staff. As data becomes available, CMS says it will post facility-specific vaccination status information for viewing by facilities, stakeholders and the public.

Addressing lagging vaccination rates among long-term care facility staff, the New York Department of Health in April set a new policy for those who do not wish to be vaccinated for COVID-19 after finding that as many as half of such employees have declined to be vaccinated. Under the new policy, workers who refuse the vaccine must sign a waiver.

More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.