Urgent Care Reaches Out to Furloughed Federal Employees

The federal government shutdown is having a very real effect on access to healthcare for many Americans. We told you recently that clinics funded by the Indian Health Service are going without funding, leaving some patients who get their primary care at those facilities out in the cold. On the other side of the coin you’ll see federal workers who aren’t getting paid and may have some tough decisions to make about where their dwindling reserves should go. Minor healthcare concerns are likely to fall by the wayside for many. They’ll get some relief if they visit urgent care centers operated by Hackensack Meridian Health, the largest health network in New Jersey, however. Hackensack is waiving copays and deductibles for emergency visits at all its network hospitals and urgent care centers for furloughed federal employees and insured family members. Some 5,000 of the 800,000 federal employees affected by the shutdown live in New Jersey. Hackensack Meridian Health operates 17 hospitals and provides access to more than 500 patient locations.