End of COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Announced

The White House announced it will be ending the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023. The PHE was first declared in early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been renewed quarterly by the Trump and Biden administrations. The PHE provided many Medicare and Medicaid flexibilities so that states could respond to the pandemic, and these flexibilities will expire when the PHE ends. 

This deadline is distinct from the March 31, 2023, expiration of Medicaid continuous coverage protections under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (CAA). The CAA ends continuous coverage protections that allowed Medicaid enrollees to retain coverage and paused eligibility redeterminations during the PHE. The CAA also includes a pathway for states to begin redeterminations as early as this month. States can receive continued enhanced federal funding, which will be phased down starting in April and end completely December 31, 2023. Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued updated guidance on continuous coverage unwinding. 

CMS has also announced Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs) for both Medicare and Marketplace coverage. These SEPs allow individuals no longer eligible for Medicaid to transition to Medicare or Marketplace coverage outside of the standard open enrollment periods.