
FREE TESTS TO END. The declaration of a COVID-19 public health
emergency three years ago changed the lives of millions of Americans by
offering increased healthcare coverage, beefed-up food assistance, and
universal access to coronavirus vaccines and tests. Much of that is now
coming to an end, with President Joe Biden’s administration saying it
plans to end the emergency declarations on May 11. Soon, insurers will
no longer be required to cover the cost of free at-home COVID-19 tests
(pictured). (AR Photo)
From The Asian Reporter, V33, #2 (February 6, 2023), pages 12
& 17.
How will life change once the COVID-19 emergency
ends?
By Amanda Seitz
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The declaration of a COVID-19 public health emergency
three years ago changed the lives of millions of Americans by offering
increased healthcare coverage, beefed-up food assistance, and universal
access to coronavirus vaccines and tests.
Much of that is now coming to an end, with President Joe Biden’s
administration saying it plans to end the emergency declarations on May
11.
Here’s a look at what will stay and what will go once the emergency
order is lifted:
COVID-19 tests, treatments & vaccines
The at-home nasal swabs, COVID-19 vaccines, as well as their
accompanying boosters, treatments, and other products that scientists
have developed over the last three years will still be authorized for
emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) once the public
health emergency is over.
But how much people pay for certain COVID-related products may
change.
Insurers will no longer be required to cover the cost of free at-home
COVID-19 tests.
Free vaccines, however, won’t come to an end with the public health
emergency.
"There’s no one right now who cannot get a free vaccine or booster,"
said Cynthia Cox, vice president at Kaiser Family Foundation. "Right now
all the vaccines that are being administered are still the ones
purchased by the federal government."
But the Biden administration has said it is running out of money to
buy up vaccines and congress has not budged on the president’s requests
for more funding.
Many states expect they can make it through the spring and summer,
but there are questions around what their vaccine supply will look like
going into the fall — when respiratory illness typically start to spike,
said Anne Zink, the president of the Association of State and
Territorial Health Officials.
"We’re all anxious to find out more about that," Zink said.
Medicaid
Medicaid enrollment ballooned during the pandemic, in part because
the federal government prohibited states from removing people from the
program during the public health emergency once they had enrolled.
The program offers healthcare coverage to roughly 90 million children
and adults — or 1 out of every 4 Americans.
Late last year, congress told states they could start removing
ineligible people in April. Millions of people are expected to lose
their coverage, either because they now make too much money to qualify
for Medicare or they’ve moved. Many are expected to be eligible for
low-cost insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act’s private
marketplace or their employer.
Student loans
Payments on federal student loans were halted in March 2020 under the
Trump administration and have been on hold since. The Biden
administration announced a plan to forgive up to $10,000 in federal
student loan debts for individuals with incomes of less than $125,000 or
households with incomes under $250,000.
But that forgiveness plan — which more than 26 million people have
applied for — is on pause, thrown into legal limbo while awaiting a
ruling from the Supreme Court.
The Justice Department initially argued that the Secretary of
Education has "sweeping authority" to waive rules relating to student
financial aid during a national emergency, per the 2003 HEROES Act that
was adopted during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A Biden administration official told The Associated Press that ending
the health emergencies will not change the legal argument for student
loan debt cancellation, saying the COVID-19 pandemic affected millions
of student borrowers who might have fallen behind on their loans during
the emergency.
The pause on student loan payments is expected to end 60 days after
the Supreme Court ruling.
Immigration at the border
Border officials will still be able to deny people the right to seek
asylum, a rule that was introduced in March 2020 as COVID-19 began its
spread.
Those restrictions remain in place at the U.S.-Mexico border, pending
a Supreme Court review, regardless of the COVID-19 emergency’s
expiration. Republican lawmakers sued after the Biden administration
moved to end the restrictions, known as Title 42, last year. The Supreme
Court kept the restrictions in place in December until it can weigh the
arguments.
The end of the emergency may bolster the legal argument that the
Title 42 restrictions should no longer be in place. The emergency
restrictions fell under health regulations and have been criticized as a
way to keep migrants from coming to the border, rather than to stop the
spread of the virus.
Telehealth
COVID-19’s arrival rapidly accelerated the use of telehealth, with
many providers and hospital systems shifting their delivery of care to a
smartphone or computer format.
The public health emergency declaration helped hasten that approach
because it suspended some of the strict rules that had previously
governed telehealth and allowed doctors to bill Medicare for care
delivered virtually, encouraging hospital systems to invest more heavily
in telehealth systems.
Congress has already agreed to extend many of those telehealth
flexibilities for Medicare through the end of next year.
Food assistance
Relaxed rules during the COVID-19 public health emergency made it
easier for individuals and families to receive a boost in benefits under
the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Some
state and congressional action has started to wind down some of that.
Emergency allotments — typically about $82 a month, according to the
Food Research and Action Center — will come to an end as soon as March
in more than two dozen states.
Food help for unemployed adults, under the age of 50 and without
children, will also change after the public health emergency is lifted
in May. During the emergency declaration, a rule that required those
individuals to work or participate in job training for 20 hours per week
to remain eligible for SNAP benefits was suspended. That rule will be in
place again starting in June. SNAP aid for more low-income college
students will also draw down in June.
State COVID emergencies
At least a half-dozen states — including California, Delaware,
Illinois, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Texas — had some form of COVID
emergency declaration or disaster order still in place in late January.
But those orders have limited practical effect.
New Mexico’s public health emergency, which had been extended through
last week, advised healthcare facilities to abide by federal coronavirus
requirements. Delaware has continued to operate under a "public health
emergency," which has suspended staffing ratios in long-term care
facilities.
California governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has said his emergency
order will end February 28. Newsom has issued 596 specific orders, from
stay-at-home mandates to tax-filing extensions, during the pandemic.
Most have expired, but he plans to ask lawmakers make two into permanent
laws — one letting nurses order and dispense COVID-19 medication and
another allowing lab workers to solely process coronavirus tests.
Money for hospitals
Hospitals will take a big financial hit in May, when the emergency
comes to an end. They’ll no longer get an extra 20% for treating
COVID-19 patients who are on Medicare.
The end to those payments comes at a time when many hospitals are
under financial pressure, struggling with workforce shortages, and
dealing with the pain of inflation, said Stacey Hughes, the executive
vice president at the American Hospitals Association.
Associated Press writers JoNel Aleccia in Los Angeles, Colleen Long
and Seung Min Kim in Washington, and David Lieb in Jefferson City,
Missouri, contributed to this report.
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