DESPITE Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’ renewal of the declaration of public health emergency and continued declaration of a state of significant emergency for another 30 days starting on Feb. 2, 2023, there will be no new Covid-19 restrictions, Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Chief Executive Officer Esther Muna said.
During the pandemic and under the Public Health Emergency or PHE, individuals could quickly apply for CNMI Medicaid program coverage at CHCC and obtain free healthcare while waiting for their application to be fully processed.
This rapid application process called “presumptive eligibility” or PE is scheduled to end on May 31, 2023.
Individuals and families were eligible for Medicaid if their attested gross income did not exceed 180% of the Supplemental Security Income federal benefit or about $28,800 annually for a family of four.
Early this month, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, announced that the Covid-19 PHE will end on May 11, 2023.
The local Medicaid office said this means that PE coverage for Medicaid ends on May 31, 2023.
