January 31, 2023 – The Biden administration informed Congress that it will end the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11.
“At present, the administration’s plan is to extend the emergency declarations to May 11, and then end both emergencies on that date,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a Jan. 30 statement. “This wind-down would align with the administration’s previous commitments to give at least 60 days’ notice prior to termination of the PHE.”
The PHE has shaped the national healthcare policy over the last three years, reforming and expanding telehealth, fast-tracking COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and preserving healthcare coverage for millions of Medicare beneficiaries across the country. The HHS has renewed the PPE every 90 days since January 2020, with the most recent renewal declared on January 11, 2023.
Termination of the PHE will mean that states won’t be required to report COVID-19 data to the CDC. Additionally, the federal government will likely shift much of the costs of COVID-19 vaccines and tests to the commercial market in 2023. Medicare enrollees will likely face out-of-pocket costs for at-home tests and treatments as well.
The World Health Organization recently determined that COVID-19 is still a public health emergency, even if it’s “at a transition point.”