Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

The Department of Labor (DOL) wants to protect healthcare workers and get ahead of the next COVID-19 variant curve ball, a recent update suggests.

Details: On March 2, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an enforcement memo about a new inspection program. OSHA aims to circumvent future COVID spikes with “a short-term increase in highly focused inspections directed at hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities [SNFs] that treat or handle COVID-19 patients,” an agency release says. “OSHA’s goal is to expand its presence to ensure continued mitigation to control the spread of COVID-19 and future variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and protect the health and safety of healthcare workers at heightened risk for contracting the virus.”

The inspections will target monitoring, assess virus controls, and review compliance management. This new stepped-up enforcement aligns with OSHA’s efforts to safeguard the nation’s healthcare workforce as it continues to work toward releasing a finalized healthcare standard to better mitigate the impact of COVID-19, suggests Doug Parker, assistant secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, in the release.

“OSHA intends to expand its presence in targeted high-hazard healthcare facilities during a three-month period from March 9, 2022 to June 9, 2022,” the release explains.

Review the memo at www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2022-03-02 and the OSHA release at www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/trade/03072022-0.