North Dakota joins lawsuit against Biden vaccine mandate for Medicare, Medicaid workers

BISMARCK, ND (KVRR) – Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said Wednesday that North Dakota has joined a lawsuit that challenges a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers employed by companies that receive Medicare and Medicaid funds.

According to the lawsuit, the CMS vaccine mandate “imposes an unprecedented federal vaccine mandate on nearly every full- or part-time employee, volunteer, and contractor working at a wide range of healthcare facilities receiving Medicaid or Medicare funding.”

“Yet again, this lawsuit is not about whether people should get vaccinated. Instead, it is about federal overreach and the federal government using an unconstitutional mandate to force front-line health care workers to choose between a vaccination or unemployment, Stenehjem said.  “North Dakota is already experiencing a shortage of healthcare workers, and this mandate will only exacerbate the situation.”

“This misguided CMS mandate will only breed additional vaccine resistance and workforce challenges. We fully support the attorney general joining this lawsuit and urge the court to immediately block this intrusive and illegal mandate,” Gov. Doug Burgum said.

Stenehjem said the lawsuit asks the Court to declare that the vaccine mandate violates the APA and to prohibit the CMS from enforcing the mandate.

In addition to North Dakota, attorneys general from Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, and New Hampshire also joined the lawsuit.