Government Shuts Down as House and Senate Fail to Agree on Funding Resolution – Medicare Claims Processing Not Impacted

As a result of Congressional disputes about ongoing funding and immigration provisions, on Friday, January 19 at midnight, the federal government began a temporary shut down.  Under the shutdown, Medicare claims processing should not be impacted in the short term because the claims processing is performed by private contractors outside of the federal government. It is unclear how long the shutdown will last.

The shutdown occurred because Congress failed to pass annual funding bills for Fiscal Year 2018 (federal Fiscal Years run from October 1 to September 30).  Instead, funding for the federal government has occurred through a series of short-term funding mechanisms known as Continuing Resolutions (CRs). For government operations to resume, Congress must reach agreement on either the annual funding bills or another short-term CR, the duration of which can vary.

The last shutdown occurred for 15 days in 2013 due to disagreements in Congress about provisions in the funding bills related to the Affordable Care Act. 

ASA staff is closely monitoring the situation. 

Click here to read the Department of Health and Human Services contingency staffing memorandum.