Medicare Reimbursement During the Gonvernment Shutdown.

According to this article, it is unlikely that medicare reimbursement checks will stop going out to physicians.  This did not occur during the last shut-down either.  New medicare applicant's applications will likely be delayed.  However, government contractors will not be paid, which means for those of us going to the VA as a contractor may be affected.


"A program like Medicare involves a variety of services, many of which would be considered essential to the public. For example, a federal government shutdown would not prevent Medicare recipients from receiving health care. During the last shutdown, Medicare even continued to pay physicians and hospitals. However, due to some of the staff being furloughed, there were about 400,000 new Medicare applicants who were delayed.  With a government shutdown potentially around the corner, a program covering such a large population is bound to draw attention. Not to mention the program costs almost $700 billion per year, making up almost a

 quarter of federal spending and covering about 43 million people, 7 million being under-65 disabled people. Additionally, almost half of those covered by Medicare are considered from low-income households. Therefore, a large number of Americans would be impacted if portions of Medicare were shut down, and a large number of them would be unlikely to have the resources to cover their own medical care if there were some hold up.

Fortunately, Medicare recipients were largely unaffected during the last federal government shutdown, and would likely be unaffected if the government shuts down on April 8. However, if there is some effect, even a relatively small one, it would be drastic considering the breadth of the program and circumstances of those relying on it."



Full link here:  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7906973/who_will_be_affected_by_a_federal_government.html?cat=62