Although the Government is partially shutdown and not receiving a paycheck has not affected me, I still work in the healthcare industry so I wanted to do some research on how it is or isn’t affecting my industry. Whether it is healthcare, health insurance, FDA, CDC, CMS, it is all tied in to healthcare in some form or fashion, and previous shutdowns have affected my industry in the past, so that makes me automatically interested.
Upon doing my research I learned that Congress had already passed five bills that funded 3/4 of the federal government that included DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) and DVA (Department of Veterans Affairs) and that funding is effective through September, which hopefully protects Medicare, Medicaid, CDC, and the FDA. This is flu season, so tracking of the flu virus is very important as well as those that want the flu vaccine.
Since there is still 7 bills that have not been passed, this could put a damper on those health related fields, so at this time the only services that have not been affected in the partial government shutdown are those that meet immediate needs of patients, medical staff and facilities. Those industries providing care to Native American tribes will not be paid until the administration reaches an agreement.
Some agencies that have currently run out of funding will go without pay including some health inspectors at the border, but they are still scheduled to work through the shutdown as well as some workers being furloughed.
Although there are a vast majority of health workers that have not been affected by the partial government shutdown, there are still many who have gone without pay and will continue to go without pay in my industry until an agreement has been reached.
Do your research on how this shutdown could affect your industry as the government does not just affect the airport and parks. If this shutdown goes on any longer, who knows how many industries will be affected since it does not look like there is an agreement in site.