HHS Announces Restructuring
In response to a presidential Executive Order, the Department of Health and Human Services is planning to reduce its workforce, including cutting FDA staff by 3500 full-time employees, and reorganize some key departments.
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The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on March 27, 2025 that it is restructuring the organization in response to a Trump Administration Executive Order. HHS states the restructuring will include the reduction of its workforce by 10,000 full-time employees; however, the total amount of workforce reduction will be closer to 20,000 when combined with other agency efforts such as early retirement and Fork in the Road (1).
The restructure plans are to streamline functions and remove redundant units. These areas will be consolidated into 15 new divisions, such as a new Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), and core functions will be centralized. HHS will reduce regional offices in half from 10 to 5. “The restructuring will improve Americans’ experience with HHS by making the agency more responsive and efficient, while ensuring that Medicare, Medicaid, and other essential health services remain intact,” the agency stated in a press release.
As part of the restructuring, FDA’s staff will be reduced by approximately 3500 full-time employees, with a HHS fact sheet stating the reduction will not impact drug, device, or food reviewers or inspectors (2). Instead, HHS states the changes will streamline operations and centralize administration functions. In addition, the staff of the National Institutes of Health will be reduced by approximately 1200 employees.
The new AHA will combine 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). “Transferring SAMHSA to AHA will increase operational efficiency and assure programs are carried out because it will break down artificial divisions between similar programs,” the agency stated in the release.
TheAdministration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), which is responsible for national disaster and public health emergency response, will transfer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) will merge with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to create the Office of Strategy.
“We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., stated in the press release (1). “This Department will do more—a lot more—at a lower cost to the taxpayer. Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants. 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.”
References
- HHS. HHS Announces Transformation to Make America Healthy Again. Press Release. March 27, 2025.
- HHS. Fact Sheet: HHS’ Transformation to Make America Healthy Again. HHS.gov (accessed March 27, 2025). https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/hhs-restructuring-doge-fact-sheet.html
