Wyoming's Congressional delegation applauds end of COVID-19 national emergency

Wyoming’s Washington delegation welcomed the end of the COVID-19 national emergency and a “return to normalcy” on Monday after three long years since the beginning of the pandemic.

Ending the national emergency terminated the use of some waivers for federal health programs like Medicaid and Medicare that were meant to support health care providers during the pandemic.

The change isn’t expected to have a huge impact as far as Wyoming goes, Wyoming Department of Health spokesperson Kim Deti told the Star-Tribune. That’s because there have already been some roll backs of COVID-era provisions as the pandemic has eased. For example, the state started requiring Medicaid participants to renew their eligibility last month — a requirement that was temporarily suspended under pandemic-era rules. The public health emergency in Wyoming also ended more than a year ago.

The White House had announced in January plans to continue the COVID-19 national emergency as well as the public health emergency until May 11. But lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives soon after introduced two bills that would terminate both immediately.

Despite the White House warning that an abrupt end to the emergency declarations would “create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system,” President Joe Biden signed one of them into law on Monday, terminating the COVID-19 national emergency that was originally enacted in 2020 during the Trump administration.

The joint resolution to end the national emergency, which was sponsored by Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar, cleared the Senate late last month in a bipartisan 68-23 vote. Wyoming’s Rep. Harriet Hageman cosponsored and voted in favor of the bill. Sen. Cynthia Lummis also threw her support behind the resolution. Sen. John Barrasso was excused from the vote, as he was with his wife as she continues treatment for cancer. Barrasso and Lummis had previously voted in favor of two separate proposals that would have ended the COVID-19 national emergency last year.

The day after the resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency passed the Senate, Lummis took to social media and called on the president to sign the bill.

“The fact that there is still a federal state of emergency in place for COVID-19 is lunacy, & blatant government overreach,” she wrote on Twitter. “WY has led the way in defending freedom while keeping our citizens safe and it is time for @POTUS to follow suit by signing the bill passed in the Senate.”

Lummis said in a statement to the Star-Tribune on Tuesday that “a return to normal is long past due,” and that she was “glad” Biden chose to sign the resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.

Hageman also lauded the earlier end of the COVID-19 national emergency. “Americans deserved freedom from government tyranny without delay. What was the purpose of waiting?” she said in a statement to the Star-Tribune.

Barrasso chastised the Biden administration for what they described as the reckless use of taxpayer dollars.

“President Biden and the Democrats have used the COVID-19 national emergency as an excuse to recklessly spend taxpayer money. Congress rightfully voted to terminate this Washington power grab,” he said.

The COVID-19 public health emergency is still in effect until May 11, though there is another bill — the Pandemic is Over Act, sponsored by Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie — making its way through Congress that would similarly put an earlier stop to the health emergency if it becomes law. The Pandemic is Over Act passed the House in late January and is headed to the Senate. Hageman voted in favor of the bill.

“It has long been time to end the Covid public health emergency,” Hageman said. “Vaccine & mask mandates, eviction moratoriums, & student loan debt cancellations must stop now — in fact ALL of these flawed Covid restrictions should have ended years ago.”

Lummis and Barrasso also called for an end to the national public health emergency.

“Now it’s time for the White House to follow our lead and also end the public health emergency that remains in place,” Barrasso said. “This will let the people of Wyoming and workers across the country resume their normal lives.”

Ending the public health emergency would mean some people might have to pay more for COVID-19 treatments and tests. It would also end some flexibilities around, for example, telehealth services.

Members of Wyoming’s Washington delegation, as well as other leaders in Wyoming, have long chaffed under federal COVID-19 requirements. Wyoming lawmakers went as far as to convene a special session in fall 2021 in an attempt to push back on federal vaccine mandates. They didn’t pass any laws, but they did put aside $4 million to pay for potential court fights against COVID-19 mandates.

After first declaring a COVID-19 public health emergency in March of 2020, Gov. Mark Gordon ended Wyoming’s public health emergency last March as case numbers and hospitalizations receded.

The end of Wyoming’s public health emergency terminated the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program emergency allotment. It also eliminated emergency rule changes to licensure requirements for the Board of Medicine and Board of Nursing, which were meant to accommodate the need for more medical personnel on a temporary basis.