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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, December 24, 2025​

Contact ASPR Press Office
ASPRMedia@hhs.gov
aspr.hhs.gov/newsroom
X: @ASPRgov


HHS Declares Public Health Emergency for the State of Washington Following Recent Severe Weather  





Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE) for the state of Washington to address the health impacts caused by recent severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides. The declaration follows President Trump’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.  

“HHS stands ready to assist state and local response efforts in the state of Washington due to the potential health care impacts from severe storms.” said John Knox, HHS’ Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR). “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. ASPR’s highly trained personnel are prepared to support state and local actions to save lives and protect the delivery of health care services.” 

To support State and local response efforts, HHS has provided access to HHS emPOWER. Data from HHS emPOWER includes the number of Medicare beneficiaries who are reliant on electricity-dependent durable medical equipment and certain health care services, such as dialysis, oxygen tanks, or home health care. In the past, this data has informed planning and response efforts to quicky and effectively address the needs of at-risk residents in areas impacted by the disaster.  

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 - PDF applies and its duration. 

In declaring the public health emergency and authorizing flexibilities for CMS providers, suppliers, and beneficiaries, Secretary Kennedy acted within his authority under the Public Health Service Act and Social Security Act. These actions and flexibilities are retroactive to December 9, 2025.   


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