Hospitals, Pharma, Policy

FDA + HHS + NIH = 60,830 people furloughed due to the shutdown

Congress failed to pass a budget so the federal government shutdown started today. The lapse […]

Congress failed to pass a budget so the federal government shutdown started today. The lapse in funding affects many health programs from the research at National Institutes of Health to enrollment in clinical trials to the Women, Infants and Children nutritional program. The Washington Post has a detailed list of who went home this morning and who is still working.

If you add up all the people who work for Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health, the total is 111,644. About 54% of those employees have been furloughed due to the government shutdown; that’s 60,830 people. Here are the details for each agency:

  • Food and Drug Administration – 6,620 furloughed, 45% of the total employees
  • Health and Human Services – 40,512 furloughed, 52% of the total employees
  • National Institutes for Health – 13,698 furloughed, 73% of the total employees

Here are details on the shutdown plan for HHS, the FDA and the NIH. The Washington Post video below lists all the federal agencies that have shut down.

Veronica Combs

Veronica is an independent journalist and communications strategist. For more than 10 years, she has covered health and healthcare with a focus on innovation and patient engagement. Most recently she managed strategic partnerships and communications for AIR Louisville, a digital health project focused on asthma. The team recruited 7 employer partners, enrolled 1,100 participants and collected more than 250,000 data points about rescue inhaler use. Veronica has worked for startups for almost 20 years doing everything from launching blogs, newsletters and patient communities to recruiting speakers, moderating panel conversations and developing new products. You can reach her on Twitter @vmcombs.

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