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HHS expected to renew COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) for the 11th time 

  • The PHE will expire on October 13 if not renewed. If renewed, the new deadline would be January 21, 2023.  
  • Xavier Becerra, current HHS Secretary, renewed the PHE for the last time on July 15, 2022.  
  • The American Hospital Association (AHA) and other hospital groups are pressing the HHS to renew the emergency to avoid a direct affectation on providers’ ability to care for patients and communities.  

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is expected to renew the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) one more time this year. The emergency is set to expire on October 13 if not renewed.  

HHS renewed the emergency for the last time on July 15 for 90 days with a 60-day notice to let the states know if they plan to end the PHE. If the HHS decides to continue the emergency on October 13, the new deadline would be January 21, 2023.  

Read more about this in our article HHS renewed COVID-19 public health emergency for 90 days.

If the PHE is renewed, this would be the 11th renewal of it since the pandemic started. Former HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar II continued this PHE four times in previous years: April 21, 2020, July 23, 2020, October 2, 2020, and January 7, 2021. 

Xavier Becerra, current HHS Secretary, did it on April 15, 2021, July 19, 2021, October 15, 2021, January 14, 2022, April 12, 2022, and July 15, 2022. 

Hospital groups are pressing the HHS to continue the PHE 

The American Hospital Association (AHA) and other hospital groups have pressed the HHS to renew the Public Health Emergency. In a letter, AHA’s President & CEO, Richard J. Pollack, stated that HHS support during the pandemic had been a critical component in sorting out healthcare providers’ difficulties.  

In the document, Pollack added that ending the PHE prematurely would place the hospitals in a highly challenging position. This would also directly affect the provider’s ability to care for patients and communities. 

Read the full article here AHA urges HHS to keep the Public Health Emergency (PHE) past October.

The AHA is not the only organization pushing the HHS to renew the COVID-19 PHE. The Federation of American Hospitals, which represents investor-owned or managed hospitals, is urging HHS “in the strongest terms possible” to continue the COVID-19 public health emergency next year.  

The renewal would occur as HHS plans to shift costs of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments to the commercial market, a process beginning this fall that is expected to take months. 

Stay tuned for this and more industry news through our October 2022 newsletter. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and our Health Prime Blog for ongoing leading industry medical practice articles and policy updates. 

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