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Obama Declares H1N1 Outbreak a National Emergency

President Barack Obama has declared the H1N1 flu outbreak a national emergency, giving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the authority to "waive or modify certain federal requirements involving Medicaid, Medicare, and health privacy rules to speed treatment," the Wall Street Journal reports. According to a research professor and chairman of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University, the declaration is a "preemptive" move aimed at giving emergency departments and facilities flexibility. For example, seeking alternative ways to triage patients and keep patients who may have H1N1 infections separated from other patients, some facilities have opened drive-through triage stations. The Associated Press reports that the declaration will help ensure that facilities get reimbursed for care in such locations, which may not be allowable under normal federal rules. Under the declaration, facilities will also be able to modify patient rules, for example, to require patients to submit less information in order to speed treatment. According to the Post, the national emergency declaration was the second of two steps required to give HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "extraordinary" authority. Obama took the first step on April 26 when he deemed the H1N1 outbreak a public health emergency, permitting about 12 million doses of influenza medication in the federal stockpile to be transferred to states. The national emergency declaration comes amid reports of lagging vaccine shipments and increasing influenza activity across the country. Only 11.3 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine had been shipped as of earlier this month, although the government expects approximately 50 million doses by mid-November and 150 million in December (McKay/Simpson/Whalen, Wall Street Journal, 10/26/09 [subscription required]; Edgerton, White House blog, 10/25/09; Peck, MedPage Today, 10/24/09; Elliott, AP/Washington Post, 10/25/09 [registration required]).

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