MAKING SENSE OF NOVEL HEALTHCARE AND EMPLOYMENT LAW ISSUES

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to select healthcare providers, employees and patients raises a number of unprecedented questions for hospitals and health systems as both healthcare providers and employers. While some hospitals have been selected as the first to receive and issue the vaccines, others are left wondering how they can protect their employees and high-risk patients until the vaccines are more widely available. In this discussion, healthcare, employment and health policy leaders from McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott+Consulting come together to explore the novel issues that healthcare providers should examine as we navigate the vaccination process.

VACCINE ALLOCATION ISSUES

2:50: What can hospital and health systems expect in terms of vaccine distribution? How is it being distributed and how will it actually reach Americans?

3:59: How did states select providers and who has access to the first vaccine distributions? (no overlay as discussion was very free-flowing)

5:30: What are some logistical challenges we are seeing that have legal or regulatory implications?

11:28: What should patients and providers know about reimbursement, coverage and other financial considerations?

13:44: What do we know now about who can get the vaccine?

EMPLOYER CONSIDERATIONS

19:03: Can hospitals, as employers, mandate the vaccine to their workforce?

20:56: What type of exceptions would an employer have to make if they decide to mandate a vaccine?

23:39: Assuming that employers can mandate the vaccine subject to those exceptions, should they?

28:15: How are hospitals thinking about prioritizing their workforce? How are they providing transparency and accountability in these decisions, as well as managing the expectations of their workforce?

PRIVACY AND DATA QUESTIONS

34:12: What does vaccine consent look like for employees who become patients, and what are concrete steps patients can take on consent-related steps?

 45:47: What new or different recordkeeping and reporting obligations should hospitals keep in mind?

51:53: What additional items should hospitals be thinking about if some of this data will be used in furtherance of research, and how does that connect to the consent issues?

LOOKING AHEAD

56:29: What are the next issues that hospitals and health systems should start thinking about for the future of the vaccination rollout