March 3, 2023

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina has closely monitored the status of the COVID-19 virus to ensure our provider community remained abreast of any changes in policy or procedure related to the care of your patients, our members. On Feb. 9, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the public health emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 will end on May 11, 2023.

As COVID-19 remains a priority, over the next several months, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will work to ensure a smooth transition. Throughout the PHE, CMS used a combination of emergency authority waivers, regulations, enforcement discretion and sub-regulatory guidance to ensure patients had access to care. While some of these flexibilities were recently expanded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, others are no longer needed.

BlueCross will continue to keep its providers aware of the upcoming changes. We encourage you to review the fact sheet* located on the HHS website and the details from CMS regarding waivers and flexibilities* to learn more on the changes to come.

If you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please contact Provider Education at 803-264-4730 or Provider.Education@bcbssc.com.

*These links lead to third-party sites. Their organization is solely responsible for the content and privacy policies on its site.