HHS plans to lay off 10,000 full-time employees in a “dramatic restructuring” that the agency said is expected to save taxpayers $1.8 billion annually.
The plan is in line with President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative led by Elon Musk. In combination with other HHS restructuring efforts that include early retirement and buyout incentives, the organization aims to downsize from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees, according to a March 27 HHS news release.
Here is a breakdown of layoffs across the department:
- FDA will lay off around 3,500. Drug, medical device and food reviewer roles will not be affected, nor will inspectors, according to a March 27 HHS fact sheet.
- CDC will lay off around 2,400 employees.
- CMS will lay off around 300 employees.
- The National Institutes for Health will lay off around 1,200.
“No additional cuts are currently planned, but the Department will continue to look for further ways to streamline its operations and agencies,” the fact sheet said.
HHS also plans to streamline department functions, consolidating 28 divisions with “many redundant units” into 15 new divisions. The divisions include a new Administration for a Healthy America, which will centralize information technology, human resources, external affairs, policy and procurement. HHS will also reduce its regional offices from 10 to five.
The restructuring will improve responsiveness and efficiency at HHS while ensuring that Medicare and Medicaid “remain intact. It will also implement new HHS priorities to end America’s chronic illness epidemic, the release said.
“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in the release. “This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves.”
Here are five additional details about the restructuring:
1. The newly created AHA will combine the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
2. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which is responsible for public health emergency and national disaster response, will transfer to the CDC to reinforce “its core mission to protect Americans from health threats.”
3. HHS will create a new assistant secretary for enforcement, who will oversee the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals, Departmental Appeals Board and Office for Civil Rights to tackle federal health program waste, fraud and abuse.
4. The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation will be merged with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to create the Office of Strategy, which will aim to improve research that supports the secretary’s policies and improves federal health program effectiveness.
5. Programs that support people with disabilities and older adults will be integrated into HHS agencies including CMS and the Administration for Children and Families. The change will not affect Medicare or Medicaid services.
