As the federal public health emergency ends at the end of the day on Thursday, the majority of individuals can anticipate paying more for COVID-19 tests.
Beginning in January 2020, the emergency declaration ensured that everyone will have free access to COVID-related medical care.
COVID-19 Testing and Treatment Insurance Coverage Changes
With some big insurance companies terminating their coverage for these tests, private insurance coverage for at-home COVID-19 exams is shifting.
At-home tests will no longer be free under Medicare, but doctor-ordered lab tests will still be fully reimbursed.
Medicaid will continue to pay for COVID-19 exams through 2024, but state-by-state coverage for individuals without insurance.
But, free screenings, shots, and treatments will still be available to Californians through November 11. Paxlovid dosages purchased with federal funds may continue to be free as long as stocks last.
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Public Health Emergency Will Expire
The federal public health emergency for the COVID pandemic will also expire, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), although not everyone is happy about it.
In February, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra, made the decision to extend the state of emergency for an additional 90 days.
This action was taken in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has had a significant impact on the country and the world as a whole.
The state of emergency was initially declared in March 2020 and has been extended multiple times since then.
The latest news appears to be the apex of a growing consensus that COVID is no longer a crisis.
It comes one month after President Biden signed a Republican-backed bill repealing a separate national COVID-19 emergency declared by President Trump in March 2020, and six days after the World Health Organization declared the global COVID-19 health emergency over.
Disability groups contend that allowing the protections associated with the public health emergency to lapse is risky and negligent because over 1,000 Americans continue to die from COVID-19 every week and countless more are developing disabling extended COVID-19.
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