WASHINGTON — The impending federal government shutdown is set to impact over 32,000 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services. Key operations, such as communications at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will face disruptions, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will halt admissions for new patients at its clinical center.
Early Wednesday morning marked the start of the shutdown after bipartisan negotiations in the Senate fell through over the failure to agree on a temporary spending package intended to sustain government funding until the end of November. A significant point of contention was Senate Democrats’ insistence on an extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and a restoration of previously cut Medicaid funds, which they refused to forfeit in exchange for passing the funding bill.
The White House has issued warnings of potential job terminations for federal workers in addition to planned furloughs should the government remain shut down. However, a memo from the Office of Management and Budget has yet to clarify which specific agencies may face worker cuts.
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Chelsea Cirruzzo is a Washington correspondent for STAT, focusing on health and human services issues. She can be reached on Signal at chelseacirruzzo.42.
