HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Declares Public Health Emergency for Louisiana Due to Hurricane Francine

Federal health care personnel, resources at-the-ready to support impact areas

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra has declared a Public Health Emergency (PHEs) for Louisiana to address the health impacts of Hurricane Francine. The declaration follows President Biden's emergency declaration for Louisiana and gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), health care providers, and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

"HHS stands ready to assist state and local response efforts in Louisiana due to the potential health care impacts from Hurricane Francine," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. "With today's declaration and waiver, HHS is helping ensure that residents in the storm's path have continuous access to the care they need during and after this storm."

To further assist Louisiana in addressing the potential health impacts of the storm, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has deployed disaster management professionals and a Health Care Situational Assessment Team to Baton Rouge for rapid response in the impact area.

These personnel include regional emergency coordinators who integrate with state health authorities and emergency response officials and with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to anticipate and help the state meet public health and medical needs in the wake of the storm. The deployed personnel also include medical providers and logistics experts who stand ready to assess the impacts to hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers, and other health care facilities in the storm's path.

"The sheer amount of rain, wind, and storm surge from Hurricane Francine could cause rapid flash flooding and widespread power outages in low-lying coastal areas and beyond," said Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O'Connell. "ASPR's highly trained personnel are prepared to provide the appropriate assistance required to save lives and protect the delivery of health care services."

ASPR also is prepared to deploy additional medical and public health personnel from the National Disaster Medical System and officers from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps if needed.

HHS has made information available from the HHS emPOWER program, a partnership between ASPR and CMS, to support public health emergency planning and response activities. The program provides valuable information on the number of Medicare beneficiaries who rely on electricity-dependent durable medical equipment and certain health care services, such as dialysis, oxygen tanks, or home health care, to help anticipate, plan for, and respond to the needs of at-risk residents in areas impacted by the storm.

The Disaster Distress Helpline is available to provide disaster crisis counseling. Managed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), this toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. To connect with a trained counselor, call or text 1-800-985-5990. Spanish speakers can press "2" for bilingual support. Callers also can connect with counselors in more than 100 other languages via third-party interpretation services by indicating their preferred language to the responding counselor.

To support state and local health departments in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing on-demand public health resources in multiple languages on topics such as flooding, mold, heat stress, carbon dioxide poisoning, and worker safety.

HHS has also waived sanctions and penalties for violations of certain provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule against hospitals in the emergency areas. The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a bulletin explaining how this limited waiver applies and its duration.

In declaring the public health emergency and authorizing flexibilities for CMS providers, suppliers, and beneficiaries, Secretary Becerra acted within his authority under the Public Health Service Act and Social Security Act. These actions and flexibilities are retroactive to September 10, 2024.

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