Officials running President Barack Obama's healthcare reform program set to be launched next month said they would still be able to handle a government shutdown. The officials would be managing the insurance exchanges which would open enrollment on October 1. They told Reuters that they expected to still be able to access funds even the government shuts down.
However, the officials said they were not certain of the effects a shutdown would have on their partner federal agencies. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the lead agency for Obamacare, has not yet given them further instructions on the matter.
A federal government shutdown became imminent early in the middle of September when Republicans in Congress voted to allocate funds for the government. However, they did not approve funding to implement Obamacare. Reuters reported that the Senate, controlled by Democrats, would most likely give approval to fund Obamacare. The two chambers would still need to agree on a spending bill by September 30. If they don't, a government shutdown would happen the following day.
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