Government Shutdown and the Affect on Healthcare

Written by Cassie Klenke

Why is there a Government Shutdown?

The government shutdown occurred because congress was unable to pass a new government funding law prior to the previous funding law (short-term spending law) expiring. The main conflict between the Democrats and Republicans is about immigration. More specifically, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) are the programs of topic. The Obama administration instituted DACA in order to protect undocumented immigrants who entered the country as minors from deportation. The Trump administration decided to end DACA in September. According to Medscape, CHIP has been given a $2.85 billion in funding until March 31, however there is no permeant plan yet.

Amount of Affected Employees

According to the BBC, 692,900 employees could be furloughed. Additionally, this could include “36% of all government workers,  96% of 7,800 staff in Housing and Urban Development, and 4% of 377,000 employees in Veterans Affairs.”

Regardless, the shutdown does not affect essential employees.

Health Programs or Organizations that will Remain Open

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has composed a Contingency Staffing Plan. This plan will be “furloughing 40,959 staff and retaining 40,956 staff.” Below are a few highlighted programs or organizations that will remain open.

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS): Medicare, Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control, and CMS Innovation activities
• FDA: limited activities such as the Center for Tobacco Products and critical public health issues.
• CDC: programs such as hurricane response and immediate response to urgent outbreaks

Health Programs or Organizations that will Close

The Contingency Staffing Plan lists the following programs temporarily closed.

• FDA: lab research, notification programs, and inspections
• Administration for Community Living (ACL): Senior nutrition, Prevention of Elder Abuse and Neglect, among other programs.
• NIH: will not be admitting new patients
• CDC: Response to influenza might have delay

The full Contingency Staffing Plan is linked here.

Resolution

There will be a vote on Monday, January 22 at noon on a temporary spending plan that will hopefully reopen the government until February 8.

Check back for updates.

New Update

According to The New York Times, the Senate voted 81-18 to reopen the government. Now, the House must approve what the Senate has passed.