The White House recently announced plans to end the COVID-19 national emergency and COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) in effect since January 2020. Along with declaring its intent to end the PHE on May 11, 2023, the Administration voiced opposition two House bills that would end the emergency declarations immediately.
On January 11, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra officially renewed the PHE that has been in effect since January 2020. As required by law, the declaration can only be extended for 90 days at a time, which means the current declaration would expire on April 11. Therefore, the announcement serves to extend the PHE until May 11, while maintaining “previous commitments to give at least 60 days’ notice prior to termination of the PHE.”
This move has the potential to impact both states and healthcare providers who have relied upon flexibilities tied to the PHE in responding to the pandemic, such as Medicare telehealth service waiver. However, legislative action in 2022 extends the telehealth policies through the end of 2024.
What does this mean for healthcare providers?
Through the end of the 2024:
- Patient geographic and physical location waivers will still apply
- Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) will still be able to offer covered telehealth services, including audio-only visits
- Payment parity between in-person and virtual visits will remain in effect
At the same time, the flexibility for behavior health providers to electronically prescribe controlled substances based on a telehealth visit has NOT been extended past the May 11, 2023 PHE end date.
Additionally, the December 2022 omnibus spending law established an April 2023 end date to the Medicaid continuous enrollment policies. These policies were previously seen as key roadblocks to ending the PHE declaration. (See here and here and here for more details.)
Review the original article post here.