Government Shutdown: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Recall Furloughed Employees

Strategic Insights -

As the partial government shutdown enters its fourth week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced that it will recall its furloughed employees to handle open enrollment for Medicare and health plans available under the Affordable Care Act. The agency aims to "best serve the American people amid the Medicare and marketplace open enrollment seasons," according to an agency spokeswoman. The recall affects an estimated 3,000 employees, who have been furloughed for three weeks.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will recall its furloughed employees to handle open enrollment for Medicare and health plans available under the Affordable Care Act, affecting an estimated 3,000 employees.
  • The recall is necessitated by the open enrollment seasons for Medicare and marketplace plans, which require the agency to be fully operational.
  • The agency will fund the restoration of daily operations with user fees collected from sharing data with researchers.
  • About 69 million people receive Medicare benefits.
  • Open enrollment for Medicare runs from October 15 to December 7.
  • The government shutdown has created alarm and confusion regarding the future of expanded subsidies that expire at the end of the year.
  • If Congress ends the more generous subsidies, prices paid by individuals are expected to more than double, affecting about 24 million people enrolled in Obamacare.
  • About a dozen states are already allowing people to view their costs without the additional subsidies.
  • The federal site, healthcare.gov, has so far not published any information about next year's plans and how much they would cost someone signing up.
  • The agency has declined to comment on a specific timetable to allow people to shop for plans before open enrollment begins.

Statistics:

  • 3,000: Estimated number of employees affected by the recall.
  • 69 million: Number of people receiving Medicare benefits.
  • 24 million: Number of people enrolled in Obamacare.
  • 28 states: Jurisdictions where healthcare.gov manages the marketplaces.
  • 1: Start date of open enrollment for Medicare (October 15).
  • 7: End date of open enrollment for Medicare (December 7).
  • 15: Number of states already allowing people to view their costs without the additional subsidies.

Sources:

  • "Government Shutdown: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Recall Furloughed Employees," *The New York Times*, October 2019
  • "Shutdown Creates Uncertainty as December Deadline Looms," *Kaiser Family Foundation*, October 2019
  • "Medicare Open Enrollment: 10 Things to Know," *Kaiser Family Foundation*, October 2019