Will a Government Shutdown Help ObamaCare?

Starting today, the federal government will enact cuts to non-essential functions, following Congress’ failure to come to agreement over a continuing resolution to fund the government past Sept. 30.
Last night, the Senate again stripped the House’s one-year delay of the individual mandate from its version of funding legislation, and the two bodies were unable to come to an agreement by the midnight deadline.  HHS said it will furlough more than half of its employees during the shutdown, and research funding by AHRQ, CDC and NIH will reduce drastically. Payments for physician training at children’s hospitals will also cease during the shutdown.
Medicare and Medicaid will remain largely unaffected, and state health insurance exchanges will launch today as planned.Yet, the shutdown’s impact will derail many medical research efforts. In a statement in response to the shutdown, Darrell G. Kirch, MD, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, said:
“As the primary federal agency responsible for supporting medical research, the ability of the National Institutes of Health to provide funding will be disrupted, slowing progress and in some instances stopping active research that improves health and the quality of life through new treatments and cures.”
The GOP hopes that the shutdown will push Democrats to accept the individual mandate delay, but Senate leaders have suggested they are unwilling to acquiesce. The shutdown is the result of a political power play, and its impacts have negative consequences for many federal agencies. Not to mention, voters aren’t fans of shutdown. Will the GOP’s efforts backfire?