Reported October 14: HHS announced public health emergencies for Florida and Alabama following Hurricane Isaias. HHS says the actions and flexibilities are retroactive to October 6 in Florida and October 7 in Alabama. The declarations enable temporary waivers of certain requirements; they are not a blanket suspension of home-health rules. HHS also shared emPOWER data with states to help identify areas with Medicare beneficiaries dependent on powered medical equipment or essential services, including home healthcare.

DomAfina’s take: turn the emergency plan into a live patient roster. Confirm each patient’s location, caregiver contact, power needs and next essential visit. Assign an owner to every unanswered call or interrupted service. Before changing a compliance workflow, verify the specific CMS waiver, covered area and effective dates, then retain that evidence. A declaration opens options; a documented handoff keeps care moving.

Source reviewed: HHS: Florida and Alabama Public Health Emergencies Following Hurricane Isaias. The source supports the reported update; the operational recommendations are DomAfina’s analysis.