KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and nine other state attorney generals filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Biden administration's vaccine mandate that requires staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at health care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Schmitt led the 10 state coalition along with Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, according to a release from his office. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt was also a part of the coalition.
The lawsuit says that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services vaccine mandate “imposes an unprecedented federal vaccine mandate on nearly every full-time employee, part-time employee, volunteer and contractor working at a wide range of healthcare facilities receiving Medicaid or Medicaid funding.”
The suit contains nine counts against the mandate including that it violates the Administration Procedures Act, the Social Security Act, the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine and the Tenth Amendment.
Schmitt has previously filed a lawsuit, along with other state attorney generals, against thefederal worker and contractor vaccine mandate and a new federal rule that requires companies with 100 or more employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or get tested weekly.
“Unfortunately, with this latest mandate from the Biden Administration, last year’s healthcare heroes are turning into this year’s unemployed. Requiring healthcare workers to get a vaccination or face termination is unconstitutional and unlawful, and could exacerbate healthcare staffing shortages to the point of collapse, especially in Missouri’s rural areas,” Attorney General Schmitt said in the release. “My Office has been, and will continue to be, a national leader in challenging the Biden Administration’s illegal edicts, and this instance is our latest effort to push back on this unprecedented federal overreach.”
