NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will temporarily gather all its laid off employees We will be back to work starting Monday to host open enrollment for health insurance, according to an agency spokesperson.
Recall after more than three weeks government shutdown That's what's needed to “best serve the American people during Medicare and Marketplace open enrollment periods,” a spokesman said Thursday.
It will be paid for through subscription fees received for sharing data with researchers, the agency said.
The decision to recall employees shows how significantly the government shutdown and staffing losses have impacted the federal government during a crucial season when millions of Americans are choosing their health insurance plans for the next year. content management system Provides health insurance to more than 160 million people, according to its website.
It also comes at a time of uncertainty for Affordable Care Act participants when Congress is deadlocked about how to contact expiring subsidies which have made marketplace health insurance less expensive for millions of people starting in 2021. Democratic lawmakers are demanding an agreement to extend COVID-era subsidies before they agree to fund the government, while Republican lawmakers want to reopen the government before debating the issue.
As their gridlock and subsequent government shutdown continues, the cost of health insurance next year for many of the ACA's 24 million enrollees still unknowneven if open enrollment starts in a week.
Although CMS did not specify how long employees will return, Medicare open enrollment period runs from October 15 to December 7, and the Affordable Care Act marketplace open enrollment period runs from November 1 to January 15.
While the agency did not respond to questions about how many employees will return to work, the agency's emergency plans estimate that about 3,300 CMS employees, or just over half, will be retained during the shutdown. This will mean that about 3,000 furloughed workers will be called back to work on Monday.
While CMS has not had any layoffs during the current shutdown, its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has been one of the hardest hit by the governmentwide force reduction. About 1,000 HHS employees were abruptly laid off earlier this month, although a judge temporarily stopped those layoffs from taking effect.
