On Tuesday, February 28, Governor Newsom
announced and issued a
proclamation terminating the state’s COVID-19 State of
Emergency, consistent with what the Governor had previously
announced in October 2022.
According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH),
the state’s SMARTER
Plan will maintain California’s operational preparedness
to address the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and will
continue to guide the state’s work to support communities across
the state.
The termination occurred nearly three years from the date the
state of emergency was initially proclaimed on March 4, 2020. The
state of emergency provided for workforce and operational
flexibilities, various statutory and regulatory waivers, and
liability immunities. According to state officials, the remaining
27 provisions that were in effect through February 28 are no
longer in effect and are in addition to the more than 550
provisions from executive orders issued under the state of
emergency that have already lapsed.
To maintain California’s COVID-19 laboratory testing and
therapeutics treatment capacity, the Newsom Administration is
seeking two statutory changes through urgency legislation,
AB 269 (Berman) that will allow 1) the continued ability of
entities currently contracted with and approved by CDPH to
dispense COVID-19 therapeutics; and 2) the continued ability of
specified laboratory workers to solely process COVID-19 tests. AB
269 passed the Assembly last week, passed unanimously off the
Senate Floor this morning, and was signed by Acting Governor
Eleni Kounalakis this afternoon.
With the termination of the state of emergency, California is no
longer in alignment with the federal public health emergency
(PHE) timeline, which is scheduled for termination at the end of
the day on May 11, 2023. Last month, U.S. Health and Human
Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a
letter to U.S. Governors notifying them that the 90-day
renewal of the COVID-19 PHE effective February 11, was planned as
the final renewal and for the COVID-19 PHE to end on May 11,
2023. Rather than 60 days’ notice, his notice provided 90 days’
notice before the COVID-19 PHE end date to give states and
communities ample time to transition.
On February 23, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) released an overview
fact sheet entitled “CMS Waivers, Flexibilities, and the
Transition Forward from the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency,” to
provide information to states on what to expect, and will be
scheduling stakeholder calls in the near future to help providers
with the transition. For additional resources and guidance broken
out by provider type, CMS has information available
here.
