On January 30, 2023, President Biden announced the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) will end on May 11, 2023. This announcement comes after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra extended the PHE earlier in January.

During the PHE the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily approved a number of telehealth flexibilities. With the Omnibus that passed at the end of 2022, these telehealth flexibilities were extended for two years, and are set to expire December 31, 2024.

While the Association for Clinical Oncology (the Association) has been advocating for permanent extension of telehealth flexibilities, the two-year extension allows Congress time to study how telehealth is being used, create parameters to avoid abuse, and identify a way to pay for the permanent expansion.

Bookmark ASCO in Action for news, advocacy, and analysis on cancer policy.