Missouri-based U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp granted an injunction to halt Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 10 states Monday.
As reported by the Daily Caller, the case applies to Medicare and Medicaid-certified medical establishments in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Alaska and Arkansas.
The injunction concerns the federal vaccine mandate from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Under the mandate, healthcare employees, trainees, students, volunteers or contractors who provide any kind of care, treatment or service for a facility must be fully vaccinated. The mandate applies to 15 categories of healthcare facilities.
Schelp ruled that there was a detrimental impact of losing qualified healthcare workers due to this mandate, which outweighed the need for workers to be vaccinated.
“CMS mandate raises substantial questions of law and fact that must be determined, as discussed throughout this opinion. Because it is evident CMS significantly understates the burden that its mandate would impose on the ability of healthcare facilities to provide proper care, and thus, save lives, the public has an interest in maintaining the ‘status quo’ while the merits of the care are determined,” he wrote.
“Congress did not clearly authorize CMS to enact this politically and economically vast, federalism-altering, and boundary-pushing mandate, which Supreme Court precedent requires,” he continued. “The mandate is likely an unlawful promulgation of regulations.”
“If the mandate goes into effect, it will irreparably harm patients by impeding access to care for the elderly and for persons who cannot afford it - directly contrary to Medicare and Medicaid’s core objective of providing proper care,” he said. “In sum, Plaintiffs’ evidence shows that facilities - rural facilities in particular - likely would face crisis standards of care or will have no choice but to close to new patients or close altogether, both of which would cause significant, and irreparable, harm to Plaintiffs’ citizens.”
