The federal government on Thursday extended its COVID-19 emergency for another 90 days despite President Joe Biden declaring the pandemic “over” weeks earlier.
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed the extension of the emergency in announcement posted on its website. No other details were provided.
He said that “a public health emergency exists and has existed since January 27, 2020, nationwide,” and it will continue to remain in effect.
The public health emergency, first declared in January 2020 and renewed every 90 days since, has dramatically changed how health services are delivered.
The declaration enabled for the emergency authorization of COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and treatments. It also expanded Medicaid coverage to millions of people, many of whom will risk losing that coverage once the emergency ends, and it temporarily opened up telehealth access for Medicare recipients, enabling doctors to collect the same rates for those visits and encouraging health networks to adopt telehealth technology….