![]() ![]() Then they will move into the commercial market, with uncertainty surrounding consumer prices and how various insurance plans will cover them. In San Francisco, officials say people without insurance also can get care through neighborhood clinics and at San Francisco General Hospital.įor now, the COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments from the federal stockpile will remain free of charge regardless of insurance coverage, as long as the supply lasts. “It could mean that people lose insurance.”Ī majority of the COVID-19 prevention and treatment options were federally funded, and in the face of potential equity shortcomings with the loss of that aid, Bay Area public health officials have vowed to keep access equitable. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford. “We know the pandemic disproportionately impacted communities of color and people with low income,” said Dr. Millions of Medi-Cal beneficiaries may also lose their coverage with the expiration of federal pandemic rules that effectively prevented people from being kicked off the government coverage program. 11, health insurance companies will no longer be required to cover the costs of COVID-19 tests and therapeutics, leaving many people picking up at least some of the tab, though many are expected to have insurance coverage. The state will no longer support mass testing and vaccination sites that had become part of the local scenery early on, due to a lack of demand and growing availability through pharmacies and various health care providers. Will tests and vaccinations still be available? Constanza Hevia H./Special to The Chronicle Chong Wang, staff at Lincoln Elementary School, unboxes COVID-19 rapid tests to give to students and parents on Friday, August 5, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. “With the operational preparedness that we’ve built up and the measures that we’ll continue to employ moving forward, California is ready to phase out this tool,” Newsom said. The state’s pandemic emergency status began on March 4, 2020, when Newsom locked down businesses and schools, waived some hospital safety standards as patients flooded emergency rooms, and approved billions of dollars in no-bid contracts for masks, testing facilities and other response measures.Īfter a few roller-coaster months that turned into years with the emergence of wily coronavirus variants, nearly all of Newsom’s executive orders have been rolled back as vaccines, treatments and high-quality masks have become widely available to help stem transmission. What does the end of California’s state of emergency mean? “California is ready to phase out this tool.” “The state of emergency was an effective and necessary tool that we utilized to protect our state, and we wouldn’t have gotten to this point without it,” Newsom said in a statement last year when he announced the end date for the order. ![]() Many other elements of the emergency - which included nearly 74 executive orders and 600 policy measures - are no longer needed since the state’s health care system has had time to adapt to the pandemic, state officials say. From a practical standpoint, it could mean the end of free and easy access to vaccines, tests and treatments in a matter of months.īut Newsom has noted that several aspects of the state’s pandemic response, such as increased access to virtual doctor appointments, are now enacted in state law. ![]()
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