With the ongoing Federal Government shutdown entering its second week, it’s very reasonable for individuals who receive some kind of direct government payment or benefit (such as Social Security Retirement benefits, or Medicaid benefits) to be worried about whether their benefits will continue during the shutdown, or whether their ongoing applications or appeals will continue to be processed. While we cannot address all situations or programs in this short post, here are some common Federal programs which pay benefits and what their overseeing agencies have put forward about their shutdown operations:
Social Security will continue to process entitlement payments, including but not limited to Social Security Retirement benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits (SSDI), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Social Security is also continuing to accept and process new claims for these benefits and accepting appeals related to same, including conducting hearings before Administrative Law Judges. Most kinds of requests for adjustments to an individual’s file, especially if they affect an individual’s ability to obtain their payments, are continuing to be processed. However, many other normal functions of the Social Security Administration, such as updating or correcting earnings records, FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests, and more will be paused during the shutdown. Social Security has produced a comprehensive list of what functions are being affected
The impact of the ongoing shutdown on Medicare and Medicaid is much more complicated and uncertain. This is in part due to the complexity of how those programs are funded, and also in part because the plan put forth by HHS for how they would function during this shutdown was extremely limited and vague, particularly compared to the detailed plans put forth by other Agencies. Put most simply, HHS announced that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services “will continue” but HHS was short on specifics and is vague about whether certain functions will be available. Their plan does note that Medicaid has funding allocation through the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2026. In past shutdowns, Medicare and Medicaid payments to doctors and healthcare providers continued but were at times subject to significant delays. That could occur during this shut down as well.
Medicaid applications for nursing home care, home care, and assisted living are processed by each county’s Board of Social Services. We continue to prepare and submit these applications for our clients despite the government shutdown, and we are continuing to monitor the shutdown’s effects on our clients’ new and ongoing claims.
Call us for advice and representation on Social Security Disability appeals and Medicaid applications and appeals … 732-382-6070.