The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) submitted a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar asking for an extension of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) beyond its currently scheduled end date of July 25, 2020. The letter highlights that the circumstances that necessitated the public health emergency are not only still present but have only gotten worse, with the United States reaching record highs of new cases on a near daily basis. It also highlights that a lot of the emergency powers, including waivers to Medicare and Medicaid, are conditioned on the existence of the Public Health Emergency.
Read the full letter.