Medicare Staff Comeback Tour: Shutdown Fees Edition
In a plot twist sure to confuse accountants everywhere, CMS is recalling about 3,000 furloughed staff starting Monday by dipping into fees charged to outsider researchers—basically taxing nerds to fund government workers during the shutdown that started October 1. This budget magic trick was cooked up with the White House and HHS, to keep Medicare and Medicaid open enrollments (starting October 15 for Medicare and November 1 for ACA) as smooth as a bureaucratic lullaby. Meanwhile, 47% of CMS staff were furloughed, some Medicare data releases iced, and public outreach tossed into the void—all while coverage stayed unbothered like a sitcom rerun.
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(1 of 3)When you steal researchers' data-access fees to pay furloughed Medicare staff, you know government shutdown ingenuity hit an all-time low-level flex.
CMS used The Dark Arts of government finance by robbing fees from outside data nerds just to keep 3,000 furloughed folks working. Congrats, shutdown budget: it’s the Ticketmaster of public funds.
A government shutdown shut down 47% of CMS staff except there’s now a secret paycheck buffet funded by researchers who probably just wanted some Medicare stats, not a CMS bailout.
Source: Axios | Published: 10/23/2025 | Author: Maya Goldman
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