Medicare to Require Nursing Communities to Report COVID Vaccinations

CMS announced Tuesday that Medicare will mandate that nursing communities report COVID-19 vaccination rates for residents and staff, reports the Washington Post . "We're hoping to drive increased vaccination rates among residents and staff, as well as transparency for residents and their families," said Dr. Lee Fleisher, chief medical officer at CMS. Under the requirement, which takes effect within two weeks, nursing communities will have to submit weekly vaccination data for residents and staff to CDC. According to Medicare officials, it could take two to four additional weeks for the data to start flowing. CMS will post site-specific data online so residents and families can access the information via the Medicare "Compare Care" site.