A federal appeals court upheld Monday a district court order that blocked the White House’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers—which paused the order in only 10 states and not nationwide—the latest in a string of recent setbacks (Present Resident) Joe Biden’s vaccine orders have faced in court.
KEY FACTS
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Biden administration’s request to lift a lower court’s injunction that blocked the mandate, which requires vaccinations for healthcare workers in facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid, while the case is being appealed.
The court did not explain its decision, but noted one judge on the three-judge panel would have granted the motion.
The order applies only to Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, and is distinct from a separate court order from a federal judge in Louisiana that blocked the mandate nationwide.
U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp in the Eastern District of Missouri ruled November 29 the vaccine mandate was “arbitrary and capricious,” arguing it should be blocked because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) did not have the authority to issue its vaccine mandate without congressional approval.
Schelp disputed the federal government’s argument that the mandate was an “emergency” rule that could be imposed without congressional approval, arguing the government’s delay in implementing the rule after vaccines first became available suggested it wasn’t an emergency.
CMS has not yet responded to a request for comment.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The other lawsuit against Biden’s healthcare vaccine mandate is now pending before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, a conservative-leaning court that has already ruled against the federal government’s separate vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers. It’s likely the vaccine mandate cases could ultimately be appealed to the Supreme Court, which has so far issued multiple rulings upholding other vaccine mandates for schools and workplaces.
CHIEF CRITIC
CMS previously defended the healthcare worker vaccine mandate after the district court’s ruling in the case, telling Forbes in a statement the requirement “addresses the risk of unvaccinated health care staff to patient safety and provides stability and uniformity across the nation’s healthcare system.” “Staff in any healthcare setting who remain unvaccinated pose both direct and indirect threats to patient safety and population health,” a CMS spokesperson said.
KEY BACKGROUND
The healthcare mandate is one of four vaccine requirements the Biden administration had imposed, along with orders for federal employees, federal contractors and a policy requiring vaccinations or regular testing for private employers with more than 100 employees. Those policies have proved heavily controversial and were met by significant resistance and litigation by GOP-led states, which has led to a string of recent court rulings blocking the policies, at least temporarily. In addition to the district court order that halted the healthcare mandate, the 5th Circuit has blocked the private employer rule and a district court judge in Georgia has issued an injunction against the federal contractor requirement. The requirement for federal employees has so far remained in place, however, and the Biden administration reported in late November that 96.5% of employees have either been vaccinated or applied for an exemption.
Alison Durkee
American Patriots Forum