On March 30, 2023, the United States Senate passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 7) to end the COVID-19 National Emergency. The resolution was passed by the United States House of Representatives on February 1, 2023. Under the authority of federal law, upon signature of the President, this resolution formalizes the end of the COVID-19 National Emergency that began on March 13, 2020.
Although occurring simultaneously and set by the White House to both end on May 11, 2023, the COVID-19 National Emergency is different from the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), with variation in the authorities, waivers, and/or flexibilities under each declaration.
From the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Current Emergencies webpage:
What happens if a national emergency ends before the PHE ends?
To be clear, the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, is not the same as the COVID-19 National Emergency declared by the Trump Administration in 2020 and implicated by H.J.Res.7. Therefore, an end to the COVID-19 National Emergency does not impact current operations at HHS, and does not impact the planned May 11 expiration of the federal PHE for COVID-19 or any associated unwinding plans. Even if the COVID-19 National Emergency were to end, any existing waivers currently in effect and authorized under the 1135 waiver authorization for the pandemic, would remain in place until the end of the federal PHE for COVID-19.
Additional Resources
- Federal Emergency Authorities webpage (from Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission website)
- Declarations of a Public Health Emergency webpage (from Health and Human Services (HHS) website)
- Fact Sheet: COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Transition Roadmap (from HHS website)
- CMS Waivers, Flexibilities, and the Transition Forward from the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency fact sheet (from CMS website)
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Powerback Rehabilitation and Powerback Respiratory email inquiry system at askregulatory@powerbackrehab.com.
