HHS Renews COVID-19 PHE

On July 15, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced they’ve extended the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) declaration for another 90 days to October 2022. Additionally, the administration continues to say that they will give 60 days’ notice before the COVID-19 PHE expires. 

The COVID-19 PHE went into effect in January 2020. This emergency declaration increased access to healthcare resources such as telehealth and coverage for treatment and testing.   

When the PHE expires, millions of people will be affected. Here’s a snapshot of who’s impacted.   

  • An estimated 11 million people will be disenrolled from Medicaid/CHIP because the continuous enrollment requirement will end – a report shows a roughly 23% increase in enrollment since 2020 
  • Over 60 million Medicare beneficiaries will lose access to most telehealth coverage if changes are not made permanent – nearly 50% of Medicare beneficiaries used telehealth in 2020    
  • Roughly 200 million people who are privately insured will lose access to free COVID-19 testing and related services – out-of-pocket costs will likely be incurred for these resources as a result 

Access to these (and more) COVID-19 resources will continue if the PHE remains in place. Click here for more information from HHS about the PHE declaration.  

We will continue to keep you updated if there are any changes to the PHE timeline.