On July 15, Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, extended the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration for another 90 days. One month later, on August 18, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a blog titled, “Creating a Roadmap for the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.” It included the assertion that the Secretary has committed to providing 60 days-notice before ending the PHE. Taken together, these communications likely signal that the end of the declared PHE is on the horizon, even as we learn to live with the disease in an endemic state.

What happens when it’s over?

As discussed in our August 8, 2022, blog, the declaration of a PHE initiates a series of actions at the federal level. When the declaration ends, some of those actions that took the form of waivers and flexibilities for health care provider and supplier organizations also will end. With the current extension through mid-October, it’s possible that waivers ending would be eliminated by mid-December.

Some pandemic-driven regulatory changes will remain in place; the expansion of flexibility and payment for services provided via telehealth is one such example. ACHC-accredited organizations in deemed status programs (home health and hospice agencies, DMEPOS suppliers, dialysis centers, home infusion therapy providers, acute care and critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and laboratories) should familiarize themselves with the changes that will result from the end of the PHE and begin preparing accordingly.

To help you understand what will change for your setting, here are links to individual CMS fact sheets:
DMEPOS
ESRD
Home Health Agency
Hospice
Hospital, CAH, and ASC
Laboratory

Read the full CMS blog post and find additional resource links here.