Notes On News: The End of the COVID-19 National Emergency and Public Health Emergency

The U.S. House of Representatives recently put forth a bill to end both the national emergency and the public health emergency (PHE) for the COVID-19 pandemic early. President Biden signed a version of the bill on April 10, ending the national emergency, but the PHE will continue until May 11, at which point it, too, will expire.

What does this mean for primary care providers? While the end of the national emergency doesn’t have an immediate, broad impact on healthcare, the upcoming end to the PHE will mean an end to the CMS emergency waivers. 

Here are some of the major changes:

• COVID-19 vaccines and boosters will continue to be free until the federal stockpile is exhausted. At that point, practices will need to purchase their own supply. The majority of insured people (both public and private) will still be able to receive vaccines and boosters at no cost to them. Though some programs exist for the uninsured, most patients without insurance will have to pay full cost for vaccinations.

• Over-the-counter COVID-19 tests will no longer be free for many patients.

• Continuous Medicaid Enrollment ended on March 31, so a number of patients who no longer qualify for Medicaid will lose access. The Healthcare Huddle provided an excellent breakdown of the impact of this change. Already patients are being informed that they are no longer eligible in some states, such as Idaho where the first round of redeterminations found only 41% of patients were still eligible. 

• Telehealth will continue to be available for Medicare patients through 2025, though the types of services may change. Practices will be required to utilize a HIPAA-complaint telehealth platform moving forward.
  

Need more information about the impact of the end of the PHE? The American Academy of Family Physicians has put together a list of resources at the end of this article.