The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on March 27 announced a major restructuring of the department and its subagencies.
HHS will reduce its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. This includes laying off 10,000 full-time employees, in addition to the 10,000 reported existing vacancies associated with other HHS efforts. In a separate fact sheet, HHS outlined workforce reductions in the following subagencies:
- Food and Drug Administration: Approximately 3,500 employees
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Approximately 2,400 employees
- National Institutes for Health: Approximately 1,200 employees
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): Approximately 300 employees
HHS also announced the formation of a new Administration for a Healthy America, which will house a consolidated set of subagencies:
- 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
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Additional changes include:
- Moving the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, previously its own operating division within HHS, into the CDC
- Dissolving the Administration for Community Living, with its programs absorbed by the Administration for Children and Families, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, and CMS
- Merging the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality into a new Office of Strategy
- 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
- Centralizing human resources, information technology, procurement, external affairs, and policies within HHS
HHS states the reorganization will have no impact on services offered by the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
Author