May 11, 2023, marks the end of the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency (“PHE”)—the beginning of a significant phase in the pandemic response in the U.S., as well as the ending of a series of benefits enabled by the emergency.
The end of the PHE means a number of provisions will end, including mandates that health insurance plans fully cover COVID-19 testing without employee cost-sharing. May 11 also will mark the end of the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for federal employees, federal contractors and some health care workers.
There are significant implications for employers regarding the end of PHE. Employers will need to make decisions regarding COVID-19 vaccine and testing coverage, as well as other issues.
For example, the PHE required health insurance plans to cover COVD-19 testing without employee cost sharing. That has now changed. Medical plans and employers are no longer required to pay for COVID-19 tests. Hence, employers will need to decide whether or not they will pay for these tests after May 11, 2023.
Furthermore, the requirement that Federal Employees and contractors be vaccinated for COVID-19 has also ended. Although, that creates individual decisions for employers, they have more to be concerned about because there is no longer the federal requirements in place. Hence, employers probably should be extremely more careful in requiring that their employees be vaccinated after May 11th.
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