NC State of Emergency being lifted, Federal Public Health Emergency still in place

North Carolina State of Emergency being lifted today, August 15, Federal Public Health Emergency still in place

In July, Governor Cooper provided an update that he would lift the North Carolina state of emergency, enacted at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, on August 15, 2022. Today, August 15, 2022, Governor Cooper issued a termination of this Executive Order. Read more on this in the Governor's official press release.

The biggest impact of this will be for social workers who are located in another state but are providing telehealth in North Carolina. If you are providing telehealth and are both licensed and physically located in North Carolina, NASW-NC does not anticipate that this change will affect your ability to provide services.

Despite the state lifting its state of emergency, the Federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) is still in place until October. Additionally, the Biden Administration has said they will give states a 60-day notice if they plan to not renew the Federal PHE. Therefore, states will have advanced notice if the Biden Administration plans to not renew the Federal PHE.

As a reminder, NASW and NASW-NC have been advocating with insurance companies to maintain current telehealth flexibilities. NASW-NC encourages social workers to always check patient’s insurance plans before providing telehealth services to ensure it will be covered based on your patient’s coverage. If you see that an insurance company is ending telehealth coverage, please contact Kay Castillo, Director of Advocacy, Policy, and Legislation at kcastillo.naswnc@socialworkers.org.