The HHS Department will lay off 10,000 workers

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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) In a major twist, the HHS The United States will lay off 10,000 workers and close entire agencies, including some that oversee billions of dollars in funding for addiction services and community health centers across the country.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the department he oversees as a “spreading and inefficient bureaucracy” in a video announcing the restructuring on Thursday. He said the department’s 82,000 workers were responsible for the decline in Americans’ health.

“I promise you now that we will do more with less,” Kennedy said in the video, posted on social media.

Kennedy acknowledged that it will be a “painful period” for the nation’s key health agencies, which are responsible for monitoring infectious diseases, inspecting food and hospitals, and overseeing health insurance programs for nearly half the country.

Job Cuts and Changes at HHS Agencies

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will reduce its workforce to 62,000 positions, eliminating 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 workers who took early retirement and voluntary separation offers pushed by the Trump administration.

The Department of HHS provided a breakdown of the cuts to several key agencies on Thursday, including:

• FDA (Food and Drug Administration): 3,500 jobs, responsible for inspecting and establishing safety standards for medicines, medical devices, and food.
• CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): 2,400 jobs, responsible for monitoring infectious disease outbreaks and collaborating with public health agencies across the country.
• NIH (National Institutes of Health): 1,200 jobs, the world's leading public health research institution.
• CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services): 300 jobs, responsible for overseeing the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid marketplace.

HHS stated that these changes are expected to save $1.8 billion per year, although no additional details were provided on the breakdown or areas of savings. The department's annual budget is $1.7 trillion, the majority of which is allocated to Medicare and Medicaid programs, which benefit older, disabled, and low-income Americans.

HHS Shutdown and New Administration for a Healthy America

Beyond the job losses, Kennedy announced he will close entire agencies, some of which were created by Congress decades ago. Several of these agencies will be merged into a new Administration for a Healthy America, Kennedy explained.

Among the affected agencies are the Health Resources and Services Administration, which is responsible for overseeing and funding hundreds of community health centers across the country, as well as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which funds clinics and oversees the national 988 helpline. Both agencies allocate billions of dollars to direct work in local communities.

Additionally, the Strategic Preparedness and Response Administration, created by a law signed by then-President George W. Bush and responsible for maintaining the national inventory, will be absorbed into the CDC. This agency was crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the national supply of equipment was rapidly depleted.

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Fountain: Associated Press