However states whose exchanges are being run by the Feds may not. The possibility of a federal government shutdown became more late last week, when congressional Republicans voted to fund the government but not the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Although the Democrat-controlled Senate is unlikely to follow suit, if the two legislative bodies cannot agree on a spending bill by next Monday, the government will shut down on Oct. 1.While state-run exchanges could continue to operate with state funds and federal grants already paid to them, states are uncertain about whether they will have access to draw-down grants and other grants awarded but not yet deposited in the state's bank account.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OBM) stated that entitlement programs could continue to run because funding for those programs comes from an "indefinite appropriation." In other words, there are some permanent programs that do not require annual appropriations from Congress to operate. This was seen during the longest government shutdown, from Dec. 16, 1995 - Jan. 6, 1996, when Social Security continued to operate as a "permanent program."
IMPACT ON ACA'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
One of the major concerns is how a shutdown would affect the IT component of the ACA, called the federal data services hub. The hub is responsible for shepherding personal information from IRS databases, other federal agencies and private data companies back to the state exchanges to determine eligibility for premium subsidies.
"The OBM says that a contractor responsible for running the IT part of the state exchanges 'may continue to proceed with its work' during a shutdown if the agency they are working for 'already obligated funds representing the entire price under a contract' before the shutdown." (Reuters.)
CMS declined to say whether the IT contracts for Obamacare meet that criterion.
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