Policy Corner: April 7, 2023
Categories: Policy Corner Archives
Congress Passes Resolution to End the National Emergency Due to COVID
President Biden is expected to sign the resolution, H J Res 7, passed on March 29 to end the COVID-19 pandemic national public health emergency (PHE) set to expire in May. Although unclear, it appears the bill will become effective upon signature. The national emergency was declared by President Trump on March 13, 2020 and gave federal government flexibility to waive or modify certain requirements in a range of areas, including in the Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP programs, and in private health insurance.
Once the emergency ends, health plans will no longer be required to cover some services related to COVID-19, such as diagnostic testing, including over-the-counter tests, at no cost to the participant, but can still choose to do so. This week, Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) led a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra urging HHS to continue providing Medicare coverage for rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests after the public health emergency ends. The Senators noted that seniors and people with disabilities remain vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, but could find themselves without critical public health tools.
During the COVID-19 PHE, Congress provided critical support to state Medicaid programs by substantially increasing the federal matching dollars they receive, if they agreed to important conditions that protected tens of millions of Medicaid beneficiaries, including the condition to maintain Medicaid enrollment for beneficiaries until the last day of the month in which the PHE ends. However, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Congress agreed to end this condition on March 31, 2023, independent of the duration of the COVID-19 PHE. Most current Medicare telehealth flexibilities that have been relied on, particularly in rural areas, will remain in place through December 2024 due to the bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 passed by Congress in December 2022.
Congress Continues to be on Recess for Spring Break
Both the House and Senate will be out next week. The House is scheduled to return April 17 and the Senate on April 21.