Government Shutdown Would Furlough HHS Staff, Not Affect ACA Implementation

A possible government shutdown would result in the furlough of more than half of the staff at the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a document released by the agency Sept. 27.

Without appropriations in place for the new fiscal year, 52 percent of HHS employees would be on furlough, and 48 percent would be retained, according to the agency’s “Contingency Staffing Plan for Operations in the Absence of Enacted Annual Appropriations.”

The plan reflects the anticipated number of staff “who would be on-board the second business day of a near-term funding hiatus, after initial shutdown activities would ...