Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon welcomed a preliminary injunction issued Monday by the United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri that halts implementation and enforcement of a rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would impose a vaccine mandate on healthcare workers.
Governor Gordon and Attorney General Bridget Hill entered Wyoming in this lawsuit, challenging the federal mandate. The proposed mandate required nearly every employee, volunteer, and contractor working at a wide range of healthcare facilities receiving Medicaid or Medicare funding to have received at least a first dose of the vaccine prior to December 6th.
In its ruling, the court agreed to preliminarily enjoin implementation and enforcement of the rule because arguments made by Wyoming and a coalition of nine other states have a likelihood of success on the merits. The coalition argued that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Servicesdoes not have authority to issue the mandate, and that it would impact the ability of healthcare facilities to effectively care for patients.
The ruling applies only to the 10-state coalition that, along with Wyoming, includes Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and New Hampshire.
