End of Covid Emergency Will Affect Millions of New Yorkers. Here's How

by Meir Sternhill

President Joe Biden's announcement that the Covid emergency declared three years ago will end on May 11 will affect millions of New York residents, from making it harder to remain on Medicaid and being forced to pay for Covid tests and vaccines to limits on telehealth services.

Former President Donald Trump declared the emergency as the pandemic rapidly closed in March of 2020. The declaration required insurance companies to fully cover the cost of Covid tests and barred states from removing people from Medicaid rolls. This caused the number of New York residents on the federal healthcare agency for low-income families to soar by over 25 percent to nearly 8 million.

Biden has said he's putting in place proposals for those who inevitably will fall out of Medicaid. But for the millions whose recertification will now be scrutinized more strictly, they could be off their plans by July.

Another victim of the Covid emergency's end is free Covid tests. New York City in the beginning of 2020 set up dozens of free testing sites paid for with federal funding from the Trump administration. Last year, the Biden administration added a requirement for health plans to pay for eight free home testing kits a month.

Beginning in May, those tests will no longer be covered. Some insurers may continue coverage but limit it to in-house doctors or require a copay.

Those on Medicaid will still be able to get the free home test kits through September of 2024.

The Covid vaccine will continue to be free as long as the federal government's supply lasts. When it runs out, most plans will cover it fully because of federal rules governing the Affordable Care Act, but those who are uninsured may have to pay for them.

Telehealth, a field that exploded during the pandemic era, will be more limited come May. The Covid emergency provisions allowed patients to meet with their doctors via Zoom or FaceTime and even get prescriptions for controlled medications. While some of that is likely to survive Covid's end, private plans will now have the flexibility to choose whether they will continue to utilize the remote service.

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