January 6, 2022
On Dec. 29, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance on the Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule that was published last November.
The emergency regulation requires vaccinations for eligible staff at healthcare facilities participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The staff vaccination requirement applies to the following Medicare and Medicaid-certified provider and supplier types: Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Community Mental Health Centers, Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, Critical Access Hospitals, End-Stage Renal Disease Facilities, Home Health Agencies, Home Infusion Therapy Suppliers, Hospices, Hospitals, Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, Clinics, Rehabilitation Agencies, and Public Health Agencies as Providers of Outpatient Physical Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology Services, Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) Programs for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly Organizations (PACE), Rural Health Clinics/Medicare Federally Qualified Health Centers, and Long Term Care facilities.
Currently, the implementation and enforcement of this regulation is enjoined in the following 25 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Facilities in these states are not required to comply with the rule, pending future developments in the litigation.
The rule currently applies to facilities participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs in the remaining 25 states (including Minnesota), the District of Columbia, and the territories.
Facilities covered by this regulation (but not in the enjoined states) must establish a policy ensuring all eligible staff have received the first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine or a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine prior to providing any care, treatment, or other services by Jan. 27, 30 days following the publication of the guidance. All eligible staff must have received the necessary shots to be fully vaccinated – either two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson – by Feb. 28, 60 days following the publication of the guidance.
Click here for more information. FAQs can be found here.
October 23, 2025
The MMA, along with the University of Minnesota Medical School, will hold a virtual physician forum on November 5 at noon on “Health Professions Education and Minnesota's Rural Health Workforce.”
October 23, 2025
AMA staff have confirmed that, as of October 21, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has guided Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to lift their temporary holds on Medicare fee-for-service claims impacted by provisions that expired on October 1 – including all Medicare fee-for-service claims in Minnesota.
October 23, 2025
For the second time in eight weeks, national grief expert David J. Schonfeld, MD, FAAP, visited Minneapolis. The first trip was days after the Annunciation Catholic Church and School shooting when he met with school leaders to help with the healing process. He returned October 21 to revisit the school and to meet with local healthcare providers at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) to offer tips on dealing with the aftermath of crisis.