Appeals court issues opinion in Florida challenge to CMS vaccine mandate rule

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit yesterday issued its opinion explaining why it denied Florida's motion for an injunction pending appeal.

In a blog post today, Sean Marotta, a partner at Hogan Lovells and AHA outside counsel, wrote, "In a 44-page opinion, the majority of the three-judge panel criticized the Louisiana district court for issuing an almost-nationwide injunction that included Florida, explaining that it was inappropriate given the Florida district court order denying Florida an injunction and unnecessary for national uniformity. The majority also held that the CMS vaccine mandate was likely authorized by the Medicare and Medicaid statutes; that CMS had good cause for bypassing notice-and-comment rulemaking; and that CMS adequately considered all relevant aspects of the mandate before issuing it. The majority further determined that Florida had not proved irreparable harm and that neither the balance of harms or the public interest warranted an injunction pending appeal. The Eleventh Circuit's opinion is - and is intended to be - a counterweight to the Louisiana and Missouri district court opinions finding the CMS mandate unlawful. And the Eleventh Circuit's opinion will give the federal government something to cite as it defends the CMS mandate in other courts and potentially at the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The question now - as it was yesterday - whether Florida will rest on the preliminary injunction granted by the Louisiana district court or if it will attempt to be the first one to the Supreme Court with an application for an injunction pending appeal. We'll let you know any updates."

Visit the AHA blog for regular updates on the CMS vaccine rule.