A group of 22 states led by the Montana attorney general has urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to lift the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in the Medicare and Medicaid space.
The states include Montana, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arizona, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.
They filed their petition asking the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS to repeal the mandate and any associated guidance requiring the staff at healthcare organizations to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
In the petition, the attorney general stated that the vaccine mandate significantly limited many patients' access to necessary medical care services. The mandates also decreased healthcare workers' employment opportunities, forcing them to choose to become vaccinated or unemployed.
Some believe that lifting the vaccine mandate has advantages and disadvantages. The upside is that it might slightly increase staff availability; the downside is that it may increase patients' unwillingness to allow unvaccinated workers to treat them.
But not everyone agrees. Some have said that every employer struggles to fill their ranks, so it's fair to blame the staffing shortage on the HHS or the vaccine mandates.
But overall, many believe that there isn't a chance that the vaccine mandate will be removed.
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