The Trump administration's sweeping overhaul of government spending has come to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with employees receiving notices on Tuesday that their jobs have been eliminated.
The move will cut roughly 20,000 jobs and shrink HHS down to about 62,000 positions, according to the announcement by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
About 10,000 people are being laid off, and another 10,000 are taking early retirement and voluntary separation offers, according to the Associated Press.
Targeted in the cuts were researchers, doctors, scientists and support staff as well as leadership, reducing the available pool of experts who generally steer national decisions on medical research and drug approvals, the AP said.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
The steep cuts are largely attributable to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was confirmed to lead the department in February, in a 52-48 vote that fell mostly along party lines. Those opposed to his appointment – including Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky – have voiced concern over Kennedy's controversial views on vaccines.
Under Kennedy, HHS said the layoffs would save about $1.8 billion annually from the department's $1.7 trillion budget. That's roughly 0.1%. Most of that money is spent on Medicare and Medicaid coverage for Americans.
According to Federal News Network, some staffers – many of whom had served in the federal government for decades – began receiving reduction-in-force (RIF) notices Tuesday morning, while others discovered that their badges no longer worked.
One former employee told the news outlet that when people's badges didn't work, they were "corralled" in front of everyone while they waited for an escort to duck into the building and retrieve items that had been left behind.
"It is so humiliating and degrading in the face of something so terrible," the employee said.
HHS isn't the only department targeted for cuts. The Food and Drug Administration, which sets safety standards for medications and medical devices, is projected to lose about 3,500 employees, the AP said. And about 2,400 jobs are expected to be cut from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which works to prevent infectious diseases.
Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health, which funds research into cancer, Alzheimer's, HIV and other serious diseases, expected to lose about 1,200 jobs Tuesday on top of the roughly 1,000 jobs that the administration has already terminated. At least four directors of the NIH's various institutes and centers were placed on administrative leave, along with computer specialists and scientists involved in brain research.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplace, is expected to lose about 300 jobs.
THE LARGER TREND
The HHS plan includes consolidating the 28 divisions of the agency to 15, including a new Administration for a Healthy America.
The new division combines 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 into a single entity.
"When combined with HHS' other efforts, including early retirement and Fork in the Road, the restructuring results in a total downsizing from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees," according to HHS.
HHS intends to close half of its regional offices, reducing the total number from ten to five.
HHS said the changes would not impact critical services and would make it "more responsive and efficient while ensuring that Medicare, Medicaid, and other essential health services remain intact."
Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.