Obama Declares Swine Flu a National Emergency

October 24th, President Obama declared the swine flu a national emergency, allowing hospitals and local governments to speedily set up alternate sites and procedures if needed to handle any surge of patients. White House spokesman Reid Cherlin emphasized that this declaration was not in response to any new information but was rather a preventative measure. The declaration allows hospitals to apply to the Department of Health and Human Services for waivers from laws that in normal times are intended to protect patients’ privacy and to ensure that they are not discriminated against based on their source of payment for care, including Medicare, Medicaid and the states’ Children’s Health Insurance Program.