US Govt Shutdown Looms: HHS Department Plans To Furlough 41% Of Health Agency Workers - Who Gets Impacted

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The US Department of Health and Human Services reportedly plans to furlough 41 percent of its workforce if the Congress fails to prevent a looming government shutdown.

There are a total of 79,717 employees in the department. As many as 32,460 of them are expected to be furloughed under the contingency staffing plan it released over the weekend, Reuters reported.

As per the plan, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , set to furlough 64% of its staff, would be unable to provide guidance to state and local health departments on key public health issues such as opioid overdoses, HIV prevention, and diabetes prevention.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would furlough over 75% of its workforce, halting grant peer reviews, advisory council meetings, and basic research.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to retain 86% of its workforce, while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will keep 53% of employees.

What else may change?

According to the report, the plan could include suspending critical functions such as public health messaging, contractor oversight, and medical research.

Programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and Food and Drug Administration drug approvals will continue, but other public health functions face significant disruptions.

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"CDC communication to the American public about health-related information will be hampered, CMS will be unable to provide oversight to major contractors, and NIH will not have the ability to admit new patients to the Clinical Center, except for whom it is medically necessary," the plan summary said, as per Reuters.

US govt shutdown

Congress has until Tuesday to pass legislation keeping the federal government open or trigger a partial shutdown, with Republicans and Democrats showing no signs they will agree to a temporary spending fix that would avert one.

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President Donald Trump 's administration has raised the stakes in the showdown with Democrats, threatening to permanently remove workers from some agencies if funding runs out. Trump is scheduled to meet with congressional leaders at the White House later on Monday in a bid to resolve the impasse.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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