Topline
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will call back furloughed staff beginning Monday amid open enrollment for federal health plans, multiple outlets reported, as the agency enters a key period with no sign the government shutdown will end soon.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., right, and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, left, wrap up the Senate Democrats’ news conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Key Facts
The agency said staff have been called back to work “to best serve the American people amid the Medicare and marketplace open enrollment seasons,” an agency spokesperson told The New York Times.
Staff will be paid from fees researchers pay the agency to access Medicare and Medicaid data.
About half of its staff, 3,000 workers, were furloughed when the government shutdown began Oct. 1, according to the CMS contingency plan.
Open enrollment for Medicare runs from Oct. 15-Dec. 7, and open enrollment for plans under the Affordable Care Act begins Nov. 1.
Key Background
The federal government shut down Oct. 1 when an existing spending plan expired and Congress failed to come to an agreement on a new spending plan. The GOP-controlled Senate needs the support of at least seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold and pass a new budget, assuming all Republicans vote for it, but nearly all Senate Democrats have refused to support the plan without an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and a reversal of Republican-enacted Medicaid cuts. About 750,000 government workers have been furloughed, approximately half the federal workforce, while essential employees and those who are paid from non-discretionary funding are exempt from the furloughs.
What To Watch For
Some federal workers are set to miss their second paychecks Friday as the shutdown enters its fourth week. Some workers received partial paychecks on Oct. 10 for work performed before the shutdown.
Further Reading
Government Shutdown: Funding Bill Fails 12th Vote (Forbes)