When will the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) end the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE)?
It’s an important question that persists because so many temporary rules and reimbursement
60-Day Notice?
You may have heard – and many industry stakeholders assume – that HHS will announce plans to expire the PHE at least 60 days before doing so. But with only informal sources to rely on, suppliers still worry the PHE will end abruptly and leave them scrambling to:
I have some good news.
After doing a bit of research, I found a January 2021 letter from Acting HHS Secretary Norris Cochran to state governors committing to the 60-day heads up. Though the letter was written in the early days of Biden’s presidency, it still represents his administration’s position. According to Route-Fifty, a digital news publication for government executives, an HHS spokesman re-affirmed the agency’s 60-day promise as recently as May 20, 2022. While not law, it is certainly more concrete than rumor mill.
The Rationale
I believe the rationale for giving states advance notice of PHE expiration is what makes this promise reliable for suppliers, too. The government pegged significant Medicaid funding and enrollment obligations to the COVID-19 PHE, and states will need time to transition back to normal operations. Ending the PHE suddenly would certainly create turbulence for state budgets and extreme difficulty for beneficiaries that will no longer qualify for Medicaid benefits when the PHE ends. The Cochran letter recognizes the implications for the beneficiary population, and I think that has more teeth than a purely aspirational statement from HHS to pacify anxious suppliers.
Going Forward
Relying on the 60-day promise, suppliers can reasonably assume HHS will:
Going one step further, if the agency fails to announce definitive plans by mid-August, suppliers can expect the PHE to continue through to January 2023.
SOURCE LINKS
https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/default.aspx
https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Letter-to-Governors-on-the-COVID-19-Response.aspx+
https://www.route-fifty.com/health-human-services/2022/05/national-covid-19-public-health-emergency-extending-until-least-october/367245/
It’s an important question that persists because so many temporary rules and reimbursement
60-Day Notice?
You may have heard – and many industry stakeholders assume – that HHS will announce plans to expire the PHE at least 60 days before doing so. But with only informal sources to rely on, suppliers still worry the PHE will end abruptly and leave them scrambling to:
- Requalify existing patients no longer covered by pandemic waivers and flexibilities,
- Retrieve equipment from patients that no longer qualify, and
- Prepare for audits that may come in the aftermath.
I have some good news.
After doing a bit of research, I found a January 2021 letter from Acting HHS Secretary Norris Cochran to state governors committing to the 60-day heads up. Though the letter was written in the early days of Biden’s presidency, it still represents his administration’s position. According to Route-Fifty, a digital news publication for government executives, an HHS spokesman re-affirmed the agency’s 60-day promise as recently as May 20, 2022. While not law, it is certainly more concrete than rumor mill.
The Rationale
I believe the rationale for giving states advance notice of PHE expiration is what makes this promise reliable for suppliers, too. The government pegged significant Medicaid funding and enrollment obligations to the COVID-19 PHE, and states will need time to transition back to normal operations. Ending the PHE suddenly would certainly create turbulence for state budgets and extreme difficulty for beneficiaries that will no longer qualify for Medicaid benefits when the PHE ends. The Cochran letter recognizes the implications for the beneficiary population, and I think that has more teeth than a purely aspirational statement from HHS to pacify anxious suppliers.
Going Forward
Relying on the 60-day promise, suppliers can reasonably assume HHS will:
- Extend the COVID-19 PHE, scheduled to end July 15, 2022, for another 90 days to October 2022.
- Announce any plans to let the next extension expire in October by mid-August 2022.
Going one step further, if the agency fails to announce definitive plans by mid-August, suppliers can expect the PHE to continue through to January 2023.
SOURCE LINKS
https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/default.aspx
https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Letter-to-Governors-on-the-COVID-19-Response.aspx+
https://www.route-fifty.com/health-human-services/2022/05/national-covid-19-public-health-emergency-extending-until-least-october/367245/