On March 18, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana issued a preliminary injunction in Montana Medical Association v. Knudsen, enjoining enforcement of part of Montana's vaccination law against "all Montana health care facilities and individual practitioners and clinics" subject to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
The Montana Medical Association and other medical groups had sued Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Montana Commissioner of Labor and Industry Laurie Esau, challenging the legality and enforceability of a Montana statute, Mont. Code § 49-2-312, that prohibits discrimination in employment and the provision of services on the basis of vaccination status. The plaintiffs argued that the law conflicts with the CMS rule requiring them to ensure that their staffs are vaccinated or risk losing Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. They filed a motion for preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement actions by the State of Montana.
In response to the plaintiffs' motion, the State of Montana seemingly agreed that § 49-2-312 and the CMS rule conflicted, but the state argued that the competing requirements would not pose compliance issues because the state would not enforce its vaccination law against entities subject to the CMS mandate.
The court granted a narrow preliminary injunction. The preliminary injunction enjoins enforcement of § 49-2-312 only as to entities subject to the CMS rule...
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