The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) expired on May 11, 2023 along with TRICARE’s temporary coverage and payment for certain services. As a result, key impacts due to the expiration of the PHE include (but are not limited to):
The temporary relaxation of state professional licensing requirements has expired.
Coverage of temporary hospitals, freestanding Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASC), and other entities enrolled with Medicare as hospitals expires upon the expiration of Medicare’s HWW initiative.
Claims for dates of services through the PHE expiration date will continue to process under the temporary classification.
Organizations previously considered a TRICARE-authorized, freestanding ASC may return to that classification, provided all federal and state licensure/certification requirements are current.
If your organization wishes to participate in TRICARE as a hospital and has been certified as such by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) or The Joint Commission (TJC), please visit HumanaMilitary.com/certify to submit a hospital application.
The requirements that CAHs provide 24-hour emergency care services and no more than 25 beds for acute, hospital-level inpatient care, or swing beds for Skilled Nursing Facility-Level care, and maintain a length-of-stay of no more than 96 hours, determined annually, expire.
You can visit TRICARE Coverage and Payment for Certain Services in Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic for complete details on each amendment to TRICARE policy.
The waiver for a qualifying hospital stay of three consecutive days or more, not including hospital discharge day, prior to SNF admission, expired on April 10, 2023 with the President’s termination of the national emergency.
You can visit Temporary Reimbursement Changes In Response To The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic for complete details.