Biden to announce nursing homes must vaccinate workers against COVID-19
WASHINGTON – Nursing homes must vaccinate their staff against COVID-19 if they want to continue receiving federal funding, President Joe Biden is expected to announce Wednesday.
The announcement, first reported by CNN, was confirmed to USA TODAY by an administration official.
Biden is scheduled to talk later today about the administration’s ongoing efforts to fight the pandemic.
While the administration has not imposed broad vaccination mandates, Biden has been ratcheting up such requirements. That started with the Department of Veterans Affairs announcing last month that health care professionals be vaccinated.
The directive to nursing homes is not immediate. The Department of Health and Human Services will have to write regulations to require vaccinations as a condition of receiving reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid.
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Genesis Healthcare, the largest private nursing-home chain in the U.S., previously announced it will require its workforces to get vaccinated.
But about 40% of nursing home staff nationwide are not vaccinated, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. About 82% of residents are.
Medicaid is the primary payer for nursing home care.