As of Monday Report’s deadline last Friday, bipartisan talks on the FY2018 federal spending bill remained contentious. If the issue has not been resolved by the time you read this on Monday, here are some items of which to be aware.
Since 1976 there have been 17 federal government shutdowns. Most were remedied within two weeks, and often sooner. The longest lasted 21 days, beginning in 1995 and ending in 1996.
During previous short-term government shutdowns, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated that claims processing would not cease. A longer-term shutdown would require further guidance from CMS regarding whether claims processing would continue; in 1995 the fiscal intermediaries held claims until the shutdown’s conclusion.
Other healthcare programs administered through the Department of Health and Human Services would be affected by a shutdown. These include payments for Children’s Hospital graduate medical education, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants for seasonal influenza and other public health assistance, and nearly all other federal grants and program administration.
Here is public guidance that HHS issued last Friday.