The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is temporarily calling back all furloughed staff starting next week, a spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
Open enrollment for traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans began Oct. 15, while the federal Affordable Care Act marketplace starts Nov. 1.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services shutdown plan, 47 percent of CMS staff have been on furlough since government funding ran out on Oct. 1.
“In order to best serve the American people amid the Medicare and Marketplace open enrollment seasons, CMS is temporarily calling back all furloughed employees on Monday, October 27. CMS will continue to abide by rules governing the Democrat-led government shutdown,” the spokesperson said.
Core programs like Medicare and Medicaid haven’t been impacted by the shutdown because their funding is built into law.
CMS said it will pay its staff by transferring funding collected through user fees that researchers pay for access to Medicare and Medicaid data.
When Congress restarts regular appropriations, then the funds can be repaid to the original user fee fund.
