HHS releases shutdown contingency plan

The Department of Health and Human Services has released a contingency plan outlining what activities would continue in the event of a government shutdown.

• Plans for subagencies including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration were also published.

Here are some highlights:

• 42% of HHS staff, or 37,325 individuals, would be furloughed by the second day of a funding lapse, while the remainder would be retained to handle core functions.
• CMS will continue to have funding for Medicaid through the first quarter of FY2024 due to advanced appropriations.
• Excepted CMS employees will ensure Medicare keeps running.
• FDA's activities that are funded by carryover user fees will continue.
• Leftover supplemental COVID funding is being used to continue FDA's COVID response work, such as emergency use authorizations and supply chain issues.
• Excepted FDA staff can continue monitoring food-borne illnesses and some inspection surveillance activities.
• NIH staff working with patients in clinical trials are excepted from furloughs.
• CDC staff will remain on the job working on outbreak response, laboratory functions, running PEPFAR and emergency operations.
• The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response will also retain staff who are awarding contracts for medical countermeasures and flu preparedness.