Biden’s management officially informed states Thursday that the COVID-19 public health emergency that has provided generous federal bills to subsidize care and insurance policy for millions of others will end on May 11.
About 15 million Americans who purchased Medicaid health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic are at risk of wasting their policy later this year when generous federal subsidies end.
Among other changes: Personal insurers will no longer be required to pay for COVID tests at home, and vaccines and remedies won’t be available until early summer.
In a letter sent to governors Thursday, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said COVID-19 cases dropped to 92 and deaths dropped to more than 80 since the rise of omicron in January 2022.
“We have reached this level in our fight against the virus thanks to our historic investments and efforts to mitigate its worst impacts,” Becerra said in the letter.
The federal government has provided billions in federal aid to states on the condition that they not remove others from Medicaid before the public fitness emergency ends. %
States will vary depending on when they resume eligibility checks. Consumers who lose their Medicaid policy can purchase a policy under the Affordable Care Act during a special enrollment period.
HHS officials said the federal government will continue to provide COVID-19 vaccines and loose remedies, such as Paxlovid, until federal materials run out. summer.
However, management will shift prices to insurers and consumers later this summer or fall, officials said.
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Consumers who won lab tests or free premises in the public fitness emergency will notice the changes. Here’s what other people can expect:
The federal government will no longer have the authority to require labs to report negative COVID-19 test results. This means the CDC may no longer be able to track the percentage of positive tests in a domain, a key indicator of whether a virus is spreading. or if a network isn’t checking enough. CDC is asking state and local public fitness jurisdictions to sign voluntary agreements to continue sharing data on vaccine administration.
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The pandemic has allowed doctors and other professionals registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to remotely prescribe controlled ingredients to patients. This allowed other people with opioid use disorders to access remedies such as buprenorphine without visiting a doctor’s office. The DEA plans to write new regulations to allow patients to continue those remedies remotely.