HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Declares Public Health Emergency, ASPR Deploys Personnel to Florida to Respond to Hurricane Helene

Emergency personnel will augment state and local response efforts

Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE) for Florida to address the health impacts of Hurricane Helene and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) deployed approximately 150 responders, along with medical equipment and supplies, to help protect the delivery of health care services in the storm’s path.

The declaration follows President Biden’s emergency declaration 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.

“We will do all we can to assist Florida officials with responding to the health impacts of Hurricane Helene,” said Secretary Becerra. “We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as our partners across the federal government, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support.”

ASPR pre-positioned approximately 150 medical providers and disaster management professionals in Florida and Alabama to address the potential health impacts of Hurricane Helene. This includes two Health Care Situational Assessment Teams (HCSAT) who stand ready to assess the storm’s impacts to hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers, and other health care facilities and two Health and Medical Task Forces and one Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) from the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) for rapid response following assessment findings. One additional DMAT and additional HCSAT are on alert and ready to deploy if needed.

“ASPR is continuing to monitor Hurricane Helene and we have deployed personnel as part of the combined federal and state response,” said Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell. “Our teams are on the ground and prepared to support recovery requests in the coming days and weeks.”

In addition to the NDMS and HCSA personnel, ASPR deployed an Incident Management Team and Regional Emergency Coordinators who integrate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), state health authorities, and emergency response officials to anticipate and help the state meet public health and medical needs in the wake of the storm. Logisticians and security personnel are also pre-positioned to support.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry have shared vital health and safety messaging and communication materials with public health officials in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama and are ready to provide additional environmental public health resources and support as 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.

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 23, 2024.