ARTICLE
Please see the email below from ANCOR regarding the CMS announcement on the Biden Administration’s plans to require staff vaccinations at all Medicare and Medicaid-participating nursing homes. Per ANCOR: “our understanding of HHS’ intent for the emergency regulation is that it will not apply in settings beyond nursing homes at this time.” While this update is good news, we will not have certainty until the proposed regulation is available. INARF will continue to stay in close contact with ANCOR, as well as Indiana Department of Health and the Indiana Health Care Association on this issue and update our membership with relevant information. Dear ANCOR Members, Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it will be issuing an emergency regulation requiring staff of nursing homes funded by Medicaid and Medicare to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Our understanding of HHS’ intent for the emergency regulation is that it will not apply in settings beyond nursing homes at this time. That said, we are staying connected with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) throughout its process of drafting the regulation to ensure the language remains consistent with our understanding. The language of this regulation is essential because although we would never discourage those who care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to get vaccinated, we are acutely aware of the state of America’s direct support workforce crisis and remain cautious in our approach to policy changes that have the potential to further exacerbate this crisis. In particular, ANCOR is concerned by policy standards that would withhold federal funding as punitive measures for noncompliance. The inability to recruit and retain qualified direct support professionals was endemic long before COVID-19, and the pandemic has exposed the extreme fragility of the workforce that carries out the mission of our national network of community I/DD providers. For far too many in our country, access to community-based I/DD services remains elusive; introducing regulations that deter people from joining or remaining in our workforce risks pushing that access farther out of reach. The next few months will be critical to the future of I/DD services. Beyond the impact of COVID-19 as it rears its ugly head once again in the form of the Delta variant, Congress will soon take up Senate Democrats’ proposed budget resolution, which operationalizes the $400 billion Better Care Better Jobs Act. On each of these fronts, we remain as committed as ever to advocating for policies and resources that address our most pressing challenges one of which is the direct support workforce crisis. In that spirit, ANCOR will meet on Monday with CMS officials to discuss in more detail its forthcoming regulation and our ongoing concerns about the workforce crisis. We will also continue keeping you apprised of the latest developments regarding federal efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of those efforts on community providers like you and the people and families that rely on you for support.
Please see the email below from ANCOR regarding the CMS announcement on the Biden Administration’s plans to require staff vaccinations at all Medicare and Medicaid-participating nursing homes. Per ANCOR: “our understanding of HHS’ intent for the emergency regulation is that it will not apply in settings beyond nursing homes at this time.” While this update is good news, we will not have certainty until the proposed regulation is available. INARF will continue to stay in close contact with ANCOR, as well as Indiana Department of Health and the Indiana Health Care Association on this issue and update our membership with relevant information.
Dear ANCOR Members,
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it will be issuing an emergency regulation requiring staff of nursing homes funded by Medicaid and Medicare to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Our understanding of HHS’ intent for the emergency regulation is that it will not apply in settings beyond nursing homes at this time. That said, we are staying connected with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) throughout its process of drafting the regulation to ensure the language remains consistent with our understanding.
The language of this regulation is essential because although we would never discourage those who care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to get vaccinated, we are acutely aware of the state of America’s direct support workforce crisis and remain cautious in our approach to policy changes that have the potential to further exacerbate this crisis.
In particular, ANCOR is concerned by policy standards that would withhold federal funding as punitive measures for noncompliance. The inability to recruit and retain qualified direct support professionals was endemic long before COVID-19, and the pandemic has exposed the extreme fragility of the workforce that carries out the mission of our national network of community I/DD providers. For far too many in our country, access to community-based I/DD services remains elusive; introducing regulations that deter people from joining or remaining in our workforce risks pushing that access farther out of reach.
The next few months will be critical to the future of I/DD services. Beyond the impact of COVID-19 as it rears its ugly head once again in the form of the Delta variant, Congress will soon take up Senate Democrats’ proposed budget resolution, which operationalizes the $400 billion Better Care Better Jobs Act. On each of these fronts, we remain as committed as ever to advocating for policies and resources that address our most pressing challenges one of which is the direct support workforce crisis.
In that spirit, ANCOR will meet on Monday with CMS officials to discuss in more detail its forthcoming regulation and our ongoing concerns about the workforce crisis. We will also continue keeping you apprised of the latest developments regarding federal efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of those efforts on community providers like you and the people and families that rely on you for support.