COVID Public Health Emergency ends; what’s next?

On Jan. 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced its intent to end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023. In place since early 2020, the PHE gave government agencies the flexibility to quickly create, waive or modify Medicare and Medicaid policies—and, to a lesser extent, private insurance policies—so healthcare providers could focus on providing care to patients during the pandemic. 

Although both individuals and healthcare providers will be impacted by the PHE ending, the widest ranging impact will likely be higher costs for COVID-19 tests and lower revenue for hospitals and other healthcare providers that treat COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 vaccines will remain free, but testing and treatments won’t.

For healthcare providers, several programs that boosted provider revenues for treating COVID-19 patients will end, as will continuous enrollment for Medicaid enrollees. Some flexibilities associated with healthcare providers providing care via telehealth will also end.    

The following provides additional details regarding the major healthcare-related items tied to the PHE; however, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list.

In general, the end of the PHE will likely result in higher costs for COVID-19 tests at-home and those performed by clinicians. This may impact people’s ability to get timely COVID-19 diagnoses and prevent transmission. For healthcare providers, enhanced reimbursement for treating COVID-19 patients will end and Medicaid enrollment levels may decline.

As the situation evolves, stay informed and engaged to avoid surprises on when and how patient care is covered.

The information contained is intended for informational purposes only. BOK Financial utilizes third-party resources that are deemed to be reliable; however, BOK Financial is not responsible for any clerical or data entry errors made by the source.