�Թϲ�����

Fear not, seniors of America: The Social Security checks are still coming. (And the Postal Service will still deliver them.) That’s because the Social Security Administration already received funding for the 2019 fiscal year, in September, according to Mark Hinkle, an agency spokesman. “Social Security services and offices will remain fully operational, and Social Security benefits will be paid on time,” he said in an emailed statement. It is not the only entitlement program spared from the shutdown. Medicare and Medicaid are also unaffected. (Chokshi and Caron, 1/2)

Kaiser Health News: How The Government Shutdown Affects Health Programs

There seems to be no end in sight for the current partial government shutdown, the third since the beginning of the Trump administration. For the vast majority of the federal government’s public health efforts, though, it’s business as usual. That’s because Congress has already passed five of its major appropriations bills, funding about three-fourths of the federal government, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Luthra, 1/3)

The shuttered parts of the federal government were no closer to being reopened Wednesday after President Trump and congressional leaders met for the first time since the shutdown began nearly two weeks ago. “I don’t think any particular progress was made today, but we talked,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters. “We’re hopeful that somehow in the coming days and weeks we’ll be able to reach an agreement.” (Wire, 1/2)