The COVID-19 federal public health emergency (PHE) declaration, most recently renewed on July 15th 2022, could be extended into 2023 based on the latest actions from the department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Both HHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) have repeatedly committed to providing a 60-day notice before allowing the PHE to finally expire. The window for providing this notice for the current extension passed as of August 15th, indicating there will be another renewal for the current October 13th expiration.

Since the PHE is renewed in 90-day increments, another extension come October would mean the declaration would continue into mid-January of 2023.

Recent industry calls from groups like the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) encourage another extension ahead of the Fall season.

As always, ADVOCATE will keep you up to date on this and all issues impacting medical groups as they become available.

Kayley Jaquet

Manager, Regulatory Affairs