President Biden announced that HHS will be ending the federal public health emergency on May 11, 2023. What will ending the PH emergency do and how will things change? Here’s my best crack at summarizing what will change once it expires.
The emergency gives the federal government flexibility to change requirements in Medicare, Medicaid, KidsCare, and private health insurance. It also set up a streamlined and separate system for authorizing medical countermeasures and gives some tort liability protection to providers who administer services.
Besides the PH emergency, congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act , the American Rescue Plan Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 – which each had tentacles tied to the declaration… and some of the provisions in those acts will also expire with the PH emergency.
I found a good table that the Kaiser Family Foundation put together that summarizes the things that will end or change on May 11 including Medicaid match rates, requirements of private health insurance, and a host of other countermeasures like the numerous Emergency Use Authorizations for COVID-19 tests, and treatments like antiviral agents and monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines. Access to those things under EUA may end but I’m not sure whether that means they’ll no longer be available for private purchase.
Anyway- here’s a good chart that summarizes the changes that will happen on May 11 from KFF:
- Coverage, costs, and payment for COVID-19 testing, treatments, and vaccines
- Medicaid coverage and federal match rates
- Telehealth
- Other Medicaid and CHIP flexibilities
- Other Medicare payment and coverage flexibilities
- Other private insurance coverage flexibilities
- Access to medical countermeasures (vaccines, tests, and treatments) through FDA emergency use authorization (EUA)
- Liability immunity to administer medical countermeasures
