If the Department of Health and Human Services follows its promise to give stakeholders a 60-day notice, the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency will not end Jan. 11 as planned because the government has given no such notice. That would mean the COVID-19 emergency, which began in January 2020, will last until at least April.

This emergency affects millions of Americans because it enables the federal government to pay for waivers and policies for Medicaid coverage, telehealth coverage, COVID-19 testing, vaccines and antiviral treatments. When the emergency expires, COVID-19 treatment and testing costs will fall back on patients and insurance companies.