On March 9, 2024, a government shutdown was averted when President Biden signed a ‘minibus’ appropriations package for six of the 12 spending bills, including the Agriculture/FDA appropriations. The remaining appropriations bills, including funding for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were not included in this initial package and must now be passed by March 22, 2024, in accordance with the fourth short-term continuing resolution (CR) for fiscal year (FY) 2024. 
 
Congress sought to move a relatively non-controversial, ‘skinny’ health care package, and thus chose not to, at this time, reauthorize the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act, nor a host of other health care priorities. However, many expiring health extenders were included in the minibus, such as:

• Extending funding for Medicare-dependent hospitals and low-volume hospital programs through December 2024.
• Extending funding for community health centers, the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), and Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) through December 2024.
• Partial reduction of a scheduled Medicare physician payment cut; and
• Eliminating the scheduled Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) cut for FY2024.

The CR is available here.
 
Impact on General Dentistry: A partial government shutdown would have caused widespread harm, particularly for agencies and programs that depend on discretionary funding through annual appropriations acts. As Congress negotiates a full-year spending bill for HHS, AGD will continue advocating for inclusion of the reauthorization of the SUPPORT Act, which includes language naming AGD as an approved training provider for practitioners who prescribe controlled substances.