Home Health & Hospice Week

“Agencies under the injunction are likely faced with the same deadlines" of Jan. 27 and Feb. 28 “if the Supreme Court does not strike down this rule,” expects attorney Robert Markette Jr. with Hall Render in Indianapolis. “CMS seems pretty confident that they will prevail, but I think the courts that issued and upheld the stays made some pretty compelling points,” Markette tells AAPC.

2. For providers in states where the CMS mandate is back on, “develop a policy and process or plan for vaccinating staff, providing exemptions and accommodations, and tracking staff vaccinations by January 27, 2022,” Goodman, Pamperin, and Perlman advise. That should happen “immediately,” they urge.

3. Use that process to ensure that applicable staff get their first dose by Jan. 27 and second dose by Feb. 28, unless you have granted or are considering an exemption for them, the Foley attorneys counsel.

4. You’ll also need to plan for what to do when staff won’t get vaccinated, despite having no exemption or having an exemption denied. “The HHA must develop contingency plans for staff who have not completed the primary vaccination series for COVID-19,” CMS says in the home health agency-specific attachment to the survey memo. “Contingency plans should include actions that the HHA would take when staff have indicated that they will not get vaccinated and do not quality for an exemption.”

Contingency plans should “indicate the actions the HHA will take if the [vaccination] deadline is not met, such as actively seeking replacement staff through advertising or obtaining temporary vaccinated staff until permanent vaccinated replacements can be found,” CMS says.

“Facilities should prioritize contingency plans for those staff that have obtained no doses of any vaccine over staff that have received a single dose of a multi-dose vaccine,” the agency adds.

5. While you have a plan for when staff don’t comply, you don’t need to pull the trigger on it quite yet. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice “continues to advise members to be prepared for implementation and enforcement of the CMS and OSHA requirements, although holding off on termination or suspension of staff that are not compliant,” the trade group says in its member newsletter.

Note: The HHA attachment to QSO-22-07-ALL is at www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-22-07-all-attachment-g-hha.pdf.