HHS announces overhaul 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced a restructuring that it says will save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year through a reduction in workforce of about 10,000 full-time employees, including 300 at CMS. 

When combined with the agency’s other efforts, including early retirement, the restructuring results in a total downsizing from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. 

“We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic. This department will do more – a lot more – at a lower cost to the taxpayer.” 

HHS believes the restructuring will also: 

• Streamline the functions of the department by consolidating 28 divisions into 15 new divisions, including a new Administration for a New America (AHA), and centralizing core functions, such as human resources, IT, procurement, external affairs and policy. It will also reduce the number of regional offices from 10 to five. 
• Advance the new priority of ending America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food and clean water, and eliminating environmental toxins. 
• Make the agency more responsive and efficient, while ensuring that Medicare, Medicaid and other essential health services remain intact. 

Specific components of the restructuring that have already been announced so far are: 

• Creating the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), which will combine multiple agencies — the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) — into a new, unified entity. This centralization, the department says, will improve coordination of health resources for low-income Americans and will focus on areas that include primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, environmental health, HIV/AIDS and workforce development. 
• Strengthening the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by transferring the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), responsible for national disaster and public health emergency response, to its oversight. 
• Creating a new Assistant Secretary for Enforcement to oversee the Departmental Appeals Board (DAB), Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA), and Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to combat waste, fraud and abuse in federal health programs. 
• Merging the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to create the Office of Strategy to enhance research that informs the secretary’s policies and improves the effectiveness of federal health programs. 
• Splitting the critical programs within the Administration for Community Living (ACL) that support older adults and people of all ages with disabilities across the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and CMS. This will not impact Medicare and Medicaid services. 

“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” Kennedy said. “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.” 

• For more detailed information, please visit this fact sheet.