CMS Releases Roadmap for Ending Public Health Emergency
On August 18, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released several fact sheets aimed at helping providers prepare for the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). CMS has been influential in supporting the health care community and its beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering emergency waivers and other regulations and enforcement to increase access to care and providing flexibilities which are now scheduled to terminate at the end of the PHE. The HHS Secretary has committed to providing 60 days’ notice to states and the health care community before ending the PHE, which is currently valid through October 15, 2022. CMS is encouraging providers to begin preparing for the end of these flexibilities by reinstating pre-pandemic standards and billing practices.
