PRESERVE YOUR RIGHT TO TIMELY ACCESS TO DOCTORS, SPECIALISTS, AND HOSPITALS FOR MEDICALLY NECESSARY SERVICES. PRESERVE THE CARE YOU PAID INTO AND DESERVE. SIGN THIS PETITION NOW !!!

On November 4th, 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration released requirements for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of eligible staff at health care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The emergency regulation issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) does so under the assumption that mandatory vaccinations protect “those fighting this virus on the front lines while also delivering assurances to individuals and their families that they will be protected when seeking care.”

*** What is not being discussed is the downstream effects of CMS’s actions in decreasing access to care for their beneficiaries through escalation of staffing shortages as according to sources cited below:

·       Nearly 1 in 5 health care workers have quit their jobs during the pandemic.1 Thus, prior to the vaccination mandate the health care workforce is down 20% from pre-pandemic numbers.

·       On average, 5% of unvaccinated employees are leaving the workforce due to the vaccine mandate2

·       More than a third of unvaccinated workers said they would quit rather than comply with a vaccine or testing mandate, a Kaiser survey shows, a share that jumps to 72% if no testing option is offered.2

***All of this is super-imposed on a national average turnover rate of 17.1% for registered nurses (RNs) 27.7% for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and 14.2 % for Physician Assistants (PAs) 3

Evidence indicates that there will be a smaller health care workforce to care for and support a growing population of aging adults that will be further compounded by an additional vaccination mandate. 1,2

With decreased work force will come longer wait times for appointments and disproportionate patient to provider ratios (amongst many other scenarios). In turn, health care providing institutions will be inundated with burdensome costs, as they jockey to maintain their work force with required salary increases. Sky-rocketing costs will lead to attrition of providers and health care providing institutions, ultimately leading to decreased health care access points for Medicare Beneficiaries.

CMS’s vaccination mandate will ultimately impact one of CMS’s core beneficiary “rights” found in the CMS “Rights and Protections” publication4. That being the “right” to “have access to doctors, specialists, and hospitals for medically necessary services.”

1.  Nearly 1 in 5 Health Care Workers Have Quit Their Jobs During the Pandemic - Morning Consult

2. Covid vaccine: Some 5% of unvaccinated adults have quit their jobs over a mandate, survey shows (cnbc.com)

3. Health Care Turnover Rates [2021 Update] - DailyPay

4. Medicare Rights and Protections.