Emergency Medical Care versus Long-Term Medical Treatment 

• Only emergency medical care that is necessary to save lives and/or protect public health and safety is eligible.

Long-term medical treatment is not eligible. This includes:

• Medical care costs incurred once a COVID-19 patient is admitted to a medical facility on an inpatient basis.
• Costs associated with follow-on treatment of COVID-19 patients beyond the duration of the Public Health Emergency, as determined by HHS.
• Administrative costs associated with the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Eligible Emergency Medical Care Activities

Emergency medical care activities under the COVID-19 Declarations include, but are not limited to:

• Triage and medically necessary tests and diagnosis related to COVID-19 cases
• Emergency medical treatment of COVID-19 patients
• Prescription costs related to COVID-19 treatment
• Use or lease of specialized medical equipment necessary to respond to COVID-19 cases
• Purchase of PPE, durable medical equipment, and consumable medical supplies necessary to respond to COVID-19 cases (note that disposition requirements may apply)
• Medical waste disposal related to eligible emergency medical care
• Emergency medical transport related to COVID-19
• Temporary medical facilities and expanded medical care facility capacity for COVID-19 for facilities overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases and/or to quarantine patients infected or potentially infected by COVID-19.
• Temporary facilities and expansions may be used to treat COVID-19 patients or non-COVID-19 patients, as appropriate. 

Medical sheltering (e.g., when existing facilities are reasonably forecasted to become overloaded in the near future and cannot accommodate needs)

• All sheltering must be conducted in accordance with standards and/or guidance approved by HHS/CDC and must be implemented in a manner that incorporates social distancing measures.
• Non‐congregate medical sheltering may also be eligible, subject to prior approval by FEMA. 

• Examples include sheltering for those who test positive for COVID-19 who do not require hospitalization but need isolation (including those exiting from hospitals); those who have been exposed to COVID-19 who do not require hospitalization; and asymptomatic high-risk individuals needing social distancing as a precautionary measure, such as people over 65 or with certain underlying health conditions (respiratory, compromised immunities, chronic disease).

• Sheltering specific populations in non-congregate shelters should be determined by a public health official’s direction or in accordance with the direction or guidance of health officials by the appropriate state or local entities.  The request should specify the populations to be sheltered. 

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