By: HUB’s EB Compliance Team

Updated May 1: This is an update to an alert originally published on April 11. Since that time, agency comments and new developments have further clarified implications of the signed resolution.

President Biden signed a resolution ending a COVID-19 national emergency declaration effective as of April 10, 2023. However, this declaration was one of three separate declarations and has no effect on benefit timelines.

A Tale of Three Emergency Declarations

Without delving too deep into the nuances, there were three separate COVID-19 emergency declarations:

  1. A Public Health Emergency
  2. An emergency declaration under the Stafford Act
  3. An emergency declaration under the National Emergencies Act

Health plans are required to cover COVID-19 tests and vaccines without cost sharing during the Public Health Emergency (“PHE”). This will continue through May 11, as HUB previously discussed here.

The national emergency under the Stafford Act is what gave rise to the “Outbreak Period” guidance. In practice, the Outbreak Period allows additional time for individuals to:

  • elect and pay for COBRA,
  • exercise HIPAA Special Enrollment Rights to change plan elections mid-year, and
  • file claims and request appeals of adverse claim decisions.

This is also scheduled to end May 11. More details on how this will work are discussed here and here.

Odd Declaration Out

The emergency declaration that ended on April 10 was #3: the National Emergencies Act. This declaration had no effect on employee benefit plans. Therefore, its ending early does not change the timeframes for the above items.

Conclusion

Contrary to the initial understanding of many, the resolution signed by the President on April 10 did not have any effect on employee benefit plans. Therefore, employers should continue to plan for both the PHE and National Emergency to end on May 11. More details on how to handle that are available here and here.

If you have any questions, please contact your HUB Advisor. View more compliance articles in our Compliance Directory.

NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER

Neither Hub International Limited nor any of its affiliated companies is a law or accounting firm, and therefore they cannot provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is provided for general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or tax advice as to an organization’s or individual's specific circumstances. It is based on Hub International's understanding of the law as it exists on the date of this publication. Subsequent developments may result in this information becoming outdated or incorrect and Hub International does not have an obligation to update this information. You should consult an attorney, accountant, or other legal or tax professional regarding the application of the general information provided here to your organization’s specific situation in light of your or your organization’s particular needs.