Group Health Plan Implications of the Termination of the COVID-19 Emergency Declarations

Miller Johnson

The Biden Administration announced its intent to terminate both the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declared by the Department of Health and Human Services and the COVID-19 national emergency declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Act (collectively, the “COVID-19 Emergency Declarations”) on May 11, 2023.

As most plan sponsors are aware, the COVID-19 Emergency Declarations required various changes to employer-sponsored group health plans, such as first-dollar coverage of COVID-19 testing and COVID-19 vaccinations, and also extended certain deadlines applicable to group health plans such as various COBRA deadlines and the deadlines to request enrollment in a group health plan due to a special enrollment event under HIPAA.

Should these declarations end on May 11, 2023, the COVID-19 “outbreak period”—which extended various deadlines applicable to group health plans subject to ERISA—will end 60 days later on July 10, 2023. As a result, plan sponsors should start thinking about how the end of the COVID-19 Emergency Declarations will impact group health plans, and any changes (and notifications of changes) that the cessation of these COVID-19 Emergency Declarations may necessitate.

Tripp VanderWal will discuss all of these issues and make time to answer questions during this Employee Benefits Lunch Break Webinar.

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