Tuesday, January 31, 2023

What the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency means for you

Plus more health news |

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What will change when the COVID-19 public health emergency ends
By Alice Park
Senior Health Correspondent

Almost since the emergence of COVID-19, the U.S. has treated the disease as both a national and public health emergency. That will end on May 11, 2023, the Biden Administration announced yesterday. The decision to end these important designations will have wide-ranging impacts on many health measures that Americans have come to take for granted over the past few years, including free vaccines, booster shots, tests, and treatments.

Here's how the changes may impact you.

  • Vaccines: COVID-19 vaccines and boosters will continue to be covered for people with private insurance when given by in-network providers, but according to an analysis by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), people may have to pay out-of-pocket if they get their shots from providers outside of their covered network. People with Medicare and Medicaid will continue to receive free vaccines, but uninsured folks won't.
  • Tests: Insurers may continue to cover COVID-19 tests, including the rapid, at-home kind, but only if they are distributed by a narrower pool of in-network providers. Medicare beneficiaries will have to start paying for a portion of any tests. Medicaid will continue to pay for COVID-19 tests that are ordered by a doctor, but each state will decide whether to cover at-home tests.
  • Treatments: Privately insured people will continue to receive coverage for COVID-19 treatments, as will people with Medicare Part D (until federal supplies run out). Medicaid will reimburse only for treatments that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Whether medications that are under an emergency use authorization from the FDA are covered will vary state by state.

READ MORE

What else to read
Without Evusheld, Immunocompromised People Are on Their Own Against COVID-19
By Jamie Ducharme
'We've been forgotten and ignored.'
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9 Rules for Talking About Sex With Your Partner
By Vanessa Marin
Most of us struggle with communication in many areas of our relationship, so of course talking about a particularly vulnerable topic is going to feel even harder.
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Israel's Chief Rabbi Rules That Cultivated Meat Could Be Kosher. Not Everyone Agrees
By Aryn Baker
Israel's head rabbi says that cultivated beef could be considered kosher. But the head of the Orthodox Union disagrees.
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The Best Kind of Breakfast for Your Metabolism
By Zee Krstic / Cooking Light
These experts have read the research. (Originally published in 2018.)
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What's the Ideal Bed Time?
By Markham Heid
There is a time range you should shoot for if you're questing for a perfect night's sleep. (Originally published in 2014.)
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ONE LAST STORY
The Fight for Insurance Coverage of Rare-Disease Drugs

Washington Post journalist Carolyn Johnson was shocked when her toddler son was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood arthritis last year—but she wasn’t surprised by the odyssey it took to get insurance to cover the costly drugs he needs.

Johnson wrote about the experience in a powerful essay that captures one family’s brush with a profoundly broken system.

Read More »

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Today's newsletter was written by Alice Park and Jamie Ducharme and edited by Mandy Oaklander.

 
 
 
 
 
 

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