Patients in long-term care facilities must be offered influenza vaccinations or the facility will fail to meet conditions of participation in Medicare and Medicaid, according to a CMS rule published in the Oct. 7 Federal Register. (PDF file: 20 pages / 201 KB. More about PDFs.) The rule took effect immediately.
The rule stipulates that each year, nursing homes must educate patients and their families about the advantages and potential side effects of influenza vaccination and then must offer the immunization to all facility residents. Facilities also must offer at least one pneumococcal inoculation to each patient.
CMS will not sanction nursing homes if patients or their legal guardians refuse the vaccine or if the patient's medical condition contraindicates vaccination.
A 1999 nursing home survey said 65 percent of nursing home residents had received influenza vaccine, and 38 percent had received pneumococcal vaccine. In January of this year, CMS moved to increase immunization rates by raising its administration payment for the vaccinations from $8 to $18, in addition to paying separately for the cost of the vaccine.
People ages 65 and older account for 90 percent of influenza deaths each year. In September, CDC recommended that elderly people and those with chronic health conditions get a flu vaccination before Oct. 24. Other populations may begin receiving their immunizations after that date.
