Photo: Gov. Reynolds speaks to constituents in Carroll during an Oct. 22, 2020 visit.
Gov. Kim Reynolds released a statement today (Monday) on a federal district court’s ruling to block a vaccine mandate for workers within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri states a preliminary injunction against the Biden Administration’s order is warranted as Congress did not grant CMS authority to enact such regulations and the mandate would significantly alter the balance between federal and state powers, calling the order “arbitrary and capricious.” Iowa, along with nine other states, are listed as plaintiffs in the case. Reynolds says, “Iowa is fighting back against the Biden Administration’s attack on individual liberties and I applaud the court’s decision to enjoin the vaccine mandate rule for Medicare and Medicaid certified providers and suppliers. Medical providers that have been on the frontlines of this pandemic saving lives deserve the freedom and ability to make their own informed health care decisions.” Iowa has five state-run facilities that receive CMS funding: the Iowa Veterans Home, the Cherokee and Independence Mental Health Institutes and the Glenwood and Woodward Resource Centers.