Effects on Healthcare of the U.S. Government Shutdown

The U.S. government shut down on Tuesday. Here is a quick sampling of how healthcare is affected:

By Kelly Young

The U.S. government shut down on Tuesday. Here is a quick sampling of how healthcare is affected:

The FDA will continue emergency work involving human safety, such as high-risk recalls, and civil and criminal law enforcement. But regular inspections and lab research are on hold.
The CDC is unable to run its influenza-tracking program. Tracking of other infectious diseases is also on hold.
The CDC published this week's MMWR ahead of schedule and won't resume publication until the shutdown ends.
The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center will not be accepting new patients for clinical trials. Ongoing clinical trials will continue.
Enrollments in the new health insurance exchanges (www.healthcare.gov or 800-318-2596), which began on Tuesday and are the source of much of the political rancor, were not halted by the shutdown because they rely on different streams of funding.

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