Covid-19 PHE Ending on May 11

Biden Administration announces an end to the public health emergency that goes beyond its current April 11 cut-off.

• By David Kopf
• Feb 02, 2023

The Biden Administration has released a statement of policy that it plans to end the Covid-19 public health emergency on May 11, a month longer than the previous extension’s end date.

In January, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra extended the Covid-19 public health emergency for another 90 days until what would be an April 11 expiration date.

The May 11 stop date offers a much longer advance notice than the 60 days’ advance notice before ending the PHE that Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra committed to in a May 10, 2022 letter he sent to U.S. governors.

The HME industry has been operating under various policy relaxations and different reimbursement guidelines thanks to the PHE, with the most important being the 75/25 blended rate in non-rural/non-competitive bidding areas. Fortunately, the recently approved omnibus spending package extended the 75/25 blended Medicare rate for non-CBA, non-rural suppliers until at least Dec. 31, 2023.

“Now the HME community can focus on advocacy for further extending the 75/25 rates beyond 2023, as well as increasing Medicare reimbursements for suppliers in former CBAs,” a statement from the American Association for Homecare read. “AAHomecare will also continue to work on maintaining access for oxygen and continuous glucose monitor patients who qualified for these products under PHE coverage guidelines.”