On June 12, a federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed by employees of a Houston hospital system over its requirement that all of its staff be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Houston Methodist Hospital system suspended 178 employees without pay last week over their refusal to get vaccinated. Of them, 117 sued seeking to overturn the requirement ...
Written by: Laura D. Caty & Dan E. Burke
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on June 10th targeted towards protecting employees in the healthcare sector from COVID-19. Read OSHA's summary here.
The COVID-19 ETS applies to all settings where any employer provides healthcare ...
On June 9, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an additional payment amount for administering in-home COVID-19 vaccinations to Medicare beneficiaries who have difficulty leaving their homes or are otherwise hard-to-reach. There are approximately 1.6 million adults 65 or older who may have trouble ...
Written by: Courtney Samford
On June 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a new Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) for particular employers in the healthcare industry and updated its voluntary guidance for all other workplaces.
The Healthcare ETS applies to most hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living ...
On June 4, 2021, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Shot at a Million, the state’s new vaccine incentive drawing.
The Governor announced two types of drawings that permanent residents of Kentucky can enter to win, at shotatamillion.ky.gov, if they have received at least the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines or the one-dose Johnson ...
On May 25, 2021 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will dedicate $4.8 billion from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to support the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program. Through the funding, the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program will reimburse health care providers for testing uninsured individuals for COVID-19.
The ...
On June 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter to insurers and providers about the cost of COVID-19 vaccinations and testing. Secretary Becerra sent the letter in response to recent reports of consumer cost concerns. The letter reminded health care providers of their signed ...
On June 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it had revised reporting requirements for recipients of Provider Relief Fund payments. Hospital groups in May asked HHS to extend the original June 30 deadline and distribute the remaining $24 billion in the relief fund.
Some of the key updates include:
- The ...
By: Michelle D. Wyrick
On May 28, 2021, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) updated its technical assistance guidance to address questions surrounding vaccines. The guidance confirms that under federal equal employment opportunity laws, employers may:
- require employees who physically enter the ...
If only every employer could give a $1 million incentive for a vaccine like the Ohio Vax-A-Millions program...then I would probably be on vacation instead of writing this blog.
The EEOC issued guidance on Friday May 28th clarifying long standing questions about the COVID-19 vaccine after organizational leaders requested additional legal ...