Tag Archives: Medicaid Payments

Senate overwhelmingly agrees to short-term spending bill, ends government shutdown

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The Senate agreed to a short-term spending bill Monday that effectively ended the government shutdown.

The 81-18 vote to approve the spending bill came after Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., promised Sunday to take up debate on immigration issues if the Senate hadn’t reached agreement on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which provides protections for young immigrants brought to the country by their parents without proper documentation.

The vote puts an end to the government shutdown, three days after it began at midnight Saturday when the Senate fell 10 votes short the 60 votes needed to approve a House-passed spending bill. However, the spending bill passed by the Senate is for three weeks, not the four that the House approved.

The failure to reach an earlier agreement on a spending bill that eventually led to the shutdown set a precedent as the Republican party controls the House, Senate and presidency. The White House said Saturday it would refuse to negotiate on immigration until funding was restored.

The shutdown temporarily put more than 40,000 employees who work for the Department of Health and Human Services and its related agencies and offices on furlough Monday morning. Under the HHS contingency plan the furloughs would:

  • limit disease surveillance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
  • stop work by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on standards coordination, and
  • halt implementation and testing required under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health and 21st Century Cures (Cures) acts by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

 

Senate votes to reopen government, averts major setback to health agencies

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Debate on the Senate floor on Jan. 22. Credit: C-span

Here’s a look at HHS, ONC and CDC plans during a government shutdown.

The Senate voted on Monday to approve a temporary funding measure that keeps the government running through Feb. 8.

The vote came after the government had been shut down for two days with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contingency plans already kicking in as of Monday morning when about 50 percent of its staff stayed home on furlough.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is not operating. However, the NIH is continuing care for current NIH Clinical Center patients.

A contingency staffing plan is keeping other operations going, including Medicare and Medicaid payments, though an extended shutdown could result in delays in claims processing, audits, and other administrative functions.

In the short term, the Medicare program will continue largely without disruption during a lapse in appropriations, according to HHS.

States will have sufficient funding for Medicaid through the second quarter.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will maintain the staff necessary to make payments to eligible states from remaining Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) carryover balances.

CMS is continuing key federal exchange activities, such as open enrollment verification.

Other ongoing HHS activities include substance abuse and mental health services for treatment referral and the suicide prevention lifeline.

The Administration for Children and Families and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), along with child support and foster care services continues.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is maintaining its 24/7 emergency operations center.

The CDC will continue to track the data on the flu, which has been virulent this season.