Biden to end national covid emergencies in May

In 2020, the Trump administration declared both a national emergency and a public health emergency, which are due to expire on March 1 and April 11, respectively. In a notice to Congress on Monday, the White House said it wanted to briefly extend both emergency declarations before ending them on May 11.

The federal government has renewed the public health emergency every 90 days since it was first declared, and administration officials previously said they would give 60 days notice before ending the public health emergency. .

“An abrupt end to emergency declarations would create large-scale chaos and uncertainty across the entire healthcare system – for states, for hospitals and doctors’ offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of people. ‘Americans,’ the White House said in a statement Monday.

Among the most notable effects of ending the state of emergency would be the end of Title 42, a public health measure that limited the influx of migrants at the border. The Biden administration tried to end Title 42, but that action was blocked in court.

Additionally, the emergency declaration allowed the Medicaid program to provide additional funding so that tens of millions of beneficiaries could maintain their Medicaid payments during the pandemic. Congress decreed a winding down of this effort, and the White House argued that ending it abruptly would cause chaos and hardship for recipients.