Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
President Biden has signed into law a GOP-led resolution to end the COVID national emergency, the White House announced Monday afternoon.
Why it matters: The national emergency was already set to end on May 11, but Biden had little choice but to end it early given the overwhelming bipartisan vote in the Senate.
- The Senate approved the resolution 68-23 last month after the House approved it 229-197.
Between the lines: Ending the emergency early will terminate some of the flexibility that Medicare, Medicaid and COBRA have been able to exercise, as Axios' Victoria Knight has reported.
- That includes deadlines for signing up for COBRA plans or filing COBRA claims, as well as waiving certain requirements for federal health programs that make it easier for providers to serve patients.
Yes, but: The resolution was only aimed at the national emergency declaration, not the separate public health emergency, which is still scheduled to end May 11.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the resolution only targets the national emergency.
