The Department of Health and Human Services’ COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), declared under Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, expires at the end of today, May 11th, 2023. You can read all about the “why” and “what” on this HHS Fact Sheet.
What it means in Colorado
Like most states, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is following the HHS. What does it mean for Coloradans? For Simplifyans, not much. The change primarily impacts people on Medicaid or Medicare, but there are a few things to note:
- Vaccines are now considered preventive care and should be covered through insurance. The difference is that the cost of the vaccines is funded by insurers rather than the feds.
- While many insurers may choose to continue to cover COVID-19 testing, the federal requirement to cover it has ended.
- After June 8th, 2023, employers are no longer required to provide PHE leave and may return to their normal leave policies.
What about other states?
Again, the impact on Simplifyans is minimal. I scanned the COVID resources for the states where we have employees and did not find relevant impacts based on the end of the PHE. But please let me know – Mark, Kate, or Justin – if you find otherwise.
- Kansas. Kansas Department of Health and Environment, COVID-19 Response
- Michigan. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Coronavirus
- Washington (ended its PHE October 31, 2022). Washington State Department of Health, COVID-19
Final Thoughts
Sorry to write a post about “minimal to no impact,” but if I hadn’t done it, and then someone asked me about it, I’d feel badly that I didn’t do it!
Of note, I added a mention of the expired PHE to the Attendance Policy section of the Employee Handbook. It basically says the expiration of the PHE has no impact on our attendance policy! 😉
Thanks, Rick! I kinda forgot about Covid!