furloughed workers shutdown health insurance medicare aca.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services says it will temporarily bring all its furloughed employees back to work starting Monday to manage health insurance open enrollment. A spokesperson said Thursday the recall to duty amid the government shutdown was needed to “best serve the American people.” The employees’ return will be paid for by user fees gathered from sharing data with researchers. The decision shows how significantly shutting down the government and losing staffing has impacted federal government operations during a crucial season for health insurance. Millions of Americans are selecting their plans for next year during this fall’s open enrollment. CMS provides health coverage to more than 160 million people, according to its website.