Biden Administration Renews Covid-19’s Emergency Status

( WSJ )

The Biden administration extended the Covid-19 pandemic’s status as a public health emergency for another 90 days, preserving measures such as expanded Medicaid and higher payments to hospitals.

The decision follows comments President Biden made in September describing the pandemic as over. Some Republican lawmakers said afterward that the administration should wind down its pandemic response and the emergency designation.

The extension of the public-health emergency on Thursday was expected by officials and lawmakers from both parties. The administration has told states it would give them 60 days notice before letting the public-health emergency expire. Some state leaders have said recently that they hadn’t gotten any such heads-up.

The decision means pandemic programs that have helped support hospitals and expand health coverage will remain in place. Under the designation, pharmacists have been allowed to administer Covid-19 shots. People on Medicaid aren’t required to renew their eligibility. States have gotten a boost in federal Medicaid payments.

The public-health emergency was first declared Jan. 31, 2020, under the Trump administration and has been extended by 90 days every time it is due to expire. The designation enables the federal government to run Test to Treat, a program that aims to get people tested and treated at the same time. It also maintains access to free, at-home tests through private insurance and Medicare, federal officials said. The designation also will allow the federal government to stay ready should cases rise in winter, they said.

The White House has asked Congress for $22.4 billion in additional pandemic funding. Republican lawmakers have said the administration has untapped Covid-19 relief funds it should be using first. Republican Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington and Brett Guthrie of Kentucky said Thursday that the administration has failed to provide a detailed plan to unwind the pandemic emergency.