FRANKFORT, Ky. (November 18, 2022) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron filed a petition calling on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to withdraw its vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. The interim final rule issued by CMS requires COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in healthcare settings that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding.
“Staffing shortages within the healthcare sector have soared to unsustainable levels, placing our most vulnerable populations at risk of losing access to necessary medical care,” said Attorney General Cameron. “Lifting the CMS vaccine mandate would allow healthcare facilities to rehire healthcare workers who left the industry due to the mandate and alleviate the burnout so many existing healthcare workers are experiencing.”
Attorney General Cameron joins 22 other attorneys general in a petition, which was filed under the Administrative Procedures Act. The petition urges the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and CMS take immediate action to repeal the agency’s interim final rule and state surveyor guidance. The petition argues that the mandate is unconstitutional, and that CMS does not have the authority to issue it.
Over one-third of Kentuckians are covered by the Medicaid program. In state fiscal year 2020-2021, the Commonwealth received over $12 billion in federal funds for Medicaid services, and Medicaid revenues account for more than 25 percent of the state’s total budget.
Attorney General Cameron was joined by attorneys general from Arizona, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming in filing the petition.
View the petition here.