Health and Human Services will lay off 10,000 workers and close agencies
in a major restructuring
[March 28, 2025]
By AMANDA SEITZ
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major overhaul, the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services will lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire
agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for
addiction services and community health centers across the country.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the department he
oversees as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy” in a video announcing
the restructuring Thursday. He faulted the department's 82,000 workers
for a decline in Americans' health.
“I want to promise you now that we're going to do more with less,”
Kennedy said in the video, posted to social media.
The restructuring plan caps weeks of tumult at the nation’s top health
department, which has been embroiled in rumors of mass firings, the
revocation of $11 billion in public health funding for cities and
counties, a tepid response to a measles outbreak, and controversial
remarks about vaccines from its new leader.
Still, Kennedy said a “painful period” lies ahead for HHS, which is
responsible for monitoring infectious diseases, inspecting foods and
hospitals, and overseeing health insurance programs for nearly half the
country.
Overall, the department will downsize to 62,000 positions, losing nearly
a quarter of its staff — 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000
workers who took early retirement and voluntary separation offers
encouraged by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The staffing cuts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Public health experts, doctors, current and former HHS workers and
congressional Democrats quickly panned Kennedy’s plans, warning they
could have untold consequences for millions of people.
“These staff cuts endanger public health and food safety,” said Brian
Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, in a statement.
“They raise serious concerns that the administration’s pledge to make
Americans healthy again could become nothing more than an empty
promise.”
But Kennedy, in announcing the restructuring, blasted HHS for failing to
improve Americans’ lifespans and not doing enough to drive down chronic
disease and cancer rates.
“All of that money,” Kennedy said of the department's $1.7 trillion
yearly budget, “has failed to improve the health of Americans.”
Cancer death rates have dropped 34% over the past two decades,
translating to 4.5 million deaths avoided, according to the American
Cancer Society. That’s largely due to smoking cessation, the development
of better treatments — many funded by the National Institutes of Health,
including groundbreaking immunotherapy — and earlier detection.
The reorganization plan also underscores Kennedy's push to take more
control of the public health agencies — the NIH, the Food and Drug
Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention —
which have traditionally operated with a level of autonomy from the
health secretary. Under the plan, external communications, procurement,
information technology and human resources will be centralized under HHS.
FDA and CDC face the deepest cuts
Federal health workers — stationed across the country at agencies
including at the NIH and FDA, both in Maryland — described shock, fear
and anxiety rippling through their offices Thursday. Workers were not
given advance notice of the cuts, several told The Associated Press, and
many remained uncertain about whether their jobs were on the chopping
block.
“It’s incredibly difficult and frustrating and upsetting to not really
know where we stand while we’re trying to keep doing the work," said an
FDA staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of
retaliation. "We’re being villainized and handicapped and have this
guillotine just hanging over our necks.”
HHS on Thursday provided a breakdown of some of the cuts.
__ 3,500 jobs at the FDA, which inspects and sets safety standards for
medications, medical devices and foods.
__ 2,400 jobs at the CDC, which monitors for infectious disease
outbreaks and works with public health agencies nationwide.
__ 1,200 jobs at the NIH, the world’s leading public health research
arm.
[to top of second column]
|
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Trump's nominee to serve as
Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies during a Senate
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his
pending confirmation on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)
__ 300 jobs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which
oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid.
HHS said it anticipates the changes will save $1.8 billion per year but
didn't give a breakdown or other details.
The cuts and consolidation go far deeper than anyone expected, an NIH
employee said.
“We’re all pretty devastated,” said the staff member, who spoke on
condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “We don’t know what this
means for public health.”
Union leaders for CDC workers in Atlanta said they received notice from
HHS on Thursday morning that reductions will focus on administrative
positions including human resources, finance, procurement and
information technology.
At CMS, where cuts focus on workers who troubleshoot problems that arise
for Medicare beneficiaries and Affordable Care Act enrollees, the result
will be the “lowest customer service standards” for thousands of cases,
said Jeffrey Grant, a former deputy director at the agency who resigned
last month.
Kennedy plans to shutter some agencies, even those created by
Congress
Beyond losing workers, Kennedy said he will shut down entire agencies,
some of which were established by Congress decades ago. Several will be
folded into a new Administration for a Healthy America, he said.
Those include the Health Resources and Services Administration, which
oversees and provides funding for hundreds of community health centers
around the country, as well as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, which funds clinics and oversees the national
988 hotline. Both agencies pump billions of dollars into on-the-ground
work in local communities.
SAMHSA was created by Congress in 1992, so closing it is illegal and
raises questions about Kennedy's commitment to treating addiction and
mental health, said Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University addiction
researcher.
“Burying the agency in an administrative blob with no clear purpose is
not the way to highlight the problem or coordinate a response,”
Humphreys said.
The Administration for Healthy America will focus on maternal and child
health, environmental health and HIV/AIDS work, HHS said.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, created by a
law signed by then-Republican President George W. Bush and responsible
for maintaining the national stockpile that was quickly drained during
the COVID-19 pandemic, will also be eliminated and moved into the CDC.
Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said the ramifications of
Kennedy's plans for HHS are unclear.
“We’ll just wait and see what it is, and then we’ll go back and try to
fix if there is something broken,” Rounds said. “That’s the approach
we’ve taken so far.”
But Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington warned that the fallout
is clear.
“It does not take a genius to understand that pushing out 20,000 workers
at our preeminent health agencies won’t make Americans healthier,"
Murray said in a statement. “It’ll just mean fewer health services for
our communities, more opportunities for disease to spread, and longer
waits for lifesaving treatments and cures.”
___
Associated Press writers Matthew Perrone and Lauran Neergaard in
Washington; JoNel Aleccia in Temecula, Calif.; Carla K. Johnson in
Seattle; and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
