A new CBS News poll released Oct. 31 finds Americans are increasingly worried about the economy as a federal government shutdown drags on, signaling broader public anxiety that experts say could translate into measurable harms to health, safety nets and community stability.

The survey, publicized across CBS programming in late October, captures a mood shift: concern over finances and job security has climbed as furloughs and administrative slowdowns compound uncertainty. For many households, that uncertainty is not abstract. Federal workers and contractors face delayed paychecks, while recipients of programs that rely on continuous federal administration risk interruptions in benefits and services they depend on to meet basic needs.

Public-health specialists and community leaders emphasize that economic instability has downstream health consequences. Interruptions to benefit processing, reduced clinic hours and deferred preventive care can exacerbate chronic conditions, delay vaccinations and increase emergency-room use. Mental-health providers report an uptick in stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms in populations already stretched thin by rising costs and stagnant wages, conditions that tend to concentrate in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

Local health clinics and safety-net hospitals, which serve disproportionate numbers of uninsured and Medicaid-dependent patients, are particularly vulnerable. Many operate on narrow margins and rely on predictable reimbursement flows and federal grants for staffing and programs. Even short-term delays or uncertainty about funding can force hiring freezes, cutbacks in community outreach, or reduced services that ripple through food banks, maternal-health programs and substance-use treatment.

The shutdown also interrupts regulatory and oversight functions that protect public health—inspection schedules, data collection, and timely implementation of public-health responses can all be slowed. For researchers and public-health programs reliant on federal grant cycles, pauses in funding can delay studies and interventions aimed at reducing health disparities, weakening long-term efforts to address chronic disease and social determinants of health.

The economic anxiety reflected in the CBS poll has clear social equity implications. Households with fewer savings, less flexible employment and greater reliance on public services will feel disproportionate effects, deepening entrenched inequities. Women, people of color and low-wage workers—who are overrepresented among service-sector and contract employees—are more likely to face immediate income shocks that jeopardize housing, food security and care for children and elders.

Policy responses that experts say could blunt these harms include promptly restoring full federal operations, targeted emergency funding to community health centers, and measures to ensure continuity of benefits and payroll for essential workers. Long-term resilience will require strengthening the financial stability of safety-net institutions and reducing the vulnerability of marginalized communities to political interruptions.

As policymakers negotiate a path out of the shutdown, the poll’s findings underscore more than political fallout: they reveal a public-health problem in the making. For communities already navigating deep inequities, prolonged uncertainty about paychecks, benefits and services threatens not only economic well‑being but also the physical and mental health of millions.