Health and Human Services to Slash 10,000 Jobs in Major Reorganization

WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday announced the department is slashing as many as 10,000 jobs as part of an ongoing reorganization effort.

“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” Kennedy said in a statement provided to The Well News.

“This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to make America healthy again,” he added.

According to a press release from the department, the restructuring will save taxpayers approximately $1.8 billion a year without impacting critical services. 

The cuts are expected to impact full-time employees across several offices and agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the National Institutes of Health.

The elimination of the positions comes after an estimated 10,000 employees have accepted buy-outs and early retirement packages since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

In total, the departures are expected to reduce the Department of Health and Human Services current workforce from just over 80,000 to about 62,000 employees.

The staff reductions will be accompanied by a streamlining of functions within the department, eliminating what Kennedy and his team now see as redundant units.

Many of these units, including those handling human resources, information technology, procurement and external affairs, will now be consolidated into 15 new divisions, including a new Administration for a Healthy America.

The department will also lose five of its 10 regional offices as a result of the reorganization.

Department officials said Thursday morning that the moves will help advance its new priority of the nation’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water and the elimination of environmental toxins.

The restructuring looks like this:

The Administration for a Healthy America will be a combination of multiple agencies, including the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The new entity will focus on primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, environmental health, HIV/AIDS and workforce development. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will absorb the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which is responsible for national disaster and public health emergency response.

The change will reinforce the CDC’s “core mission to protect Americans from health threats,” the department said. 

HHS is also creating a new assistant secretary for Enforcement to oversee the Departmental Appeals Board, the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals, and the Office for Civil Rights to combat waste, fraud and abuse in federal health programs. 

In addition, HHS will merge the office of the assistant secretary for Planning and Evaluation with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to create the Office of Strategy to enhance research “that informs the secretary’s policies and improves the effectiveness of federal health programs.”

Finally, the department is reorganizing the Administration for Community Living, which oversees programs that support older adults and people with disabilities, by having it “integrate” the Administration for Children and Families, ASPE and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

“This reorganization will not impact Medicare and Medicaid services,” the department said. 

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue