Medicare Agency to Recall 3,000 Workers for Open Enrollments

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will recall roughly 3,000 staff members who have been furloughed since the beginning of October as the agency ramps up operations during the annual open-enrollment periods for Medicare and the federal health insurance marketplace.

The recalled employees will return Monday, according to an email from an agency spokesperson. 

Almost half of the agency's employees have been furloughed due to the government shutdown.

To pay these workers despite the funding lapse, the agency said it will tap into user fees collected from outside researchers who access its data. 

"While the shutdown continues, you won't get back pay for the days you were previously furloughed," the agency wrote in the email.

"Details on back pay will be available after the shutdown ends."

The spokesperson added that the move will help the agency "best serve the American people amid the Medicare and [Affordable Care Act] open enrollment seasons."

The fees normally go into a dedicated "user-fee fund" and will be reimbursed via congressional appropriations once regular funding resumes. 

The agency said the move was made in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House.

• Medicare Innovation Center to Cancel Select Payment Trials
• Senate Rejects Bills to Pay Federal Workers During Shutdown