On May 1, CMS issued QSO-23-13-ALL, which includes some regulatory relief from COVID PHE-related compliance requirements. Please see below for the current status of several of the top items included in the memo.

Staff COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements (F888) Will Soon End (it has not yet been rescinded as of publication of this article on 5.19.2023)

Related to the interim final rule issued November 5, 2021, CMS announced in QSO-23-13-ALL that it will soon end the interim final rule requiring all healthcare staff to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. CMS announced it will provide more information on this at some point after the PHE termination on May 11. The staff vaccine requirements did not end along with the termination of the PHE. CMS will send out a separate communication to announce the end of this requirement.

Reporting to Residents, Representatives and Families on COVID-19 (F885) Ended May 1, 2023

• CMS will exercise enforcement discretion and not expect providers to meet this requirement at this time.

Requirements for COVID-19 Testing (F886) Expired May 11, 2023

• CMS still expects facilities to conduct COVID-19 testing in accordance with accepted national standards, such as CDC recommendations. Noncompliance with this expectation will be cited at F-880 for failure to implement an effective Infection Prevention and Control Program in accordance with accepted national standards.

Requirements for Educating about and Offering Residents and Staff the COVID-19 Vaccine (F887)

• Facilities will need to continue to educate and offer residents and staff the COVID-19 vaccine until the interim final rule expires, 3 years after issuance, which would be May 21, 2024.

NHSN Reporting on COVID-19 (F884)

• Extended through a November 9, 2021 final rule (CMS-1747-F) and is set to terminate on December 31, 2024, except for the requirements noted below.
• Requirement for reporting the COVID-19 vaccine status of residents and staff through NHSN is permanent and will continue indefinitely unless additional regulatory action is taken.