A coalition of 22 states petitioned the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to repeal the mandate and related guidance requiring health care workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. CMS announced in November 2021 the vaccination mandate, which covers health care facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid.
The petition argues that the vaccine mandate has intensified workforce shortages at health care facilities and limited patient access to necessary medical care services.
Filed under the Administrative Procedures Act, the petition was led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) and co-led by attorneys general from Arizona, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming also joined.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
