H1N1 Swine Flu Emergency: What Does It Mean?

The question is: How does declaring swine flu a national emergency, practically change the fight against the epidemic?

In essence, it gives hospitals the freedom and flexibility they need to start treating the virus like an emergency, said Dr. Richard Besser, former head of the Centers for Disease Control.

"This declaration really changes the playing fields for hospitals," Besser said. "They've been doing planning for disasters. Now they can implement those plans."

According to officials at HHS, that means allowing hospitals to set up alternate care facilities for swine flu victims in schools, nursing homes or other satellite sites without jeopardizing their reimbursement payments from Medicare and Medicaid.

It also allows hospitals to transfer patients to different facilities if they no longer have the capacity to deal with a massive influx of patients as a result of swine flu, and to set up triage centers to determine levels of care and treat the sickest patients first.