HHS Announces Transformation to Make America Healthy Again
PRESS RELEASE FROM HHS Press Office
Below is the press release for the restructuring of HHS in accordance with President Trump's Executive Order, “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative.”
This is truly an amazing turn of events and one I never expected in my lifetime.
-RWM
HHS Announces Transformation to Make America Healthy Again
PRESS RELEASE FROM the HHS Press Office
March 27, 2025
Washington, D.C. — March 27, 2025 — Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a dramatic restructuring in accordance with President Trump's Executive Order, “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative.”
The restructuring will address this and serve multiple goals without impacting critical services. First, it will save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year through a reduction in workforce of about 10,000 full-time employees who are part of this most recent transformation. 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.
Secondly, it will streamline the functions of the Department. Currently, the 28 divisions of the HHS contain many redundant units. The restructuring plan will consolidate them into 15 new divisions, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, or AHA, and will centralize core functions such as Human Resources, Information Technology, Procurement, External Affairs, and Policy. Regional offices will be reduced from 10 to 5.
Third, the overhaul will implement the new HHS priority of ending America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins. These priorities will be reflected in the reorganization of HHS.
Finally, 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.
“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. said. “This Department will do more – a lot more – at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”
The specific contents of the restructuring plan that have been announced so far are as follows:
Creation of 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 will improve coordination of health resources for low-income Americans and will focus on areas including, Primary Care, Maternal and Child Health, Mental Health, Environmental Health, HIV/AIDS, and Workforce development. Transferring SAMHSA to AHA will increase operational efficiency and assure programs are carried out because it will break down artificial divisions between similar programs.
Strengthening the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), responsible for national disaster and public health emergency response, will transfer to the CDC, reinforcing its core mission to protect Americans from health threats.
New Assistant Secretary for Enforcement: HHS will create 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.
Research and Evaluation for Health Policy: HHS will merge 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.
Reorganization of the Administration for Community Living (ACL): Critical programs that support older adults and people with disabilities will be integrated into other HHS agencies, including the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), ASPE, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This reorganization 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,” Secretary 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 our fact sheet (copied below):
Fact Sheet: HHS’ Transformation to Make America Healthy Again
Content created by the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA)
The restructuring of HHS is proceeding in accordance with President Trump's Executive Order, "Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative.” Over the past four years, during the Biden administration, HHS’s budget increased by 38% and its staffing increased by 17%.
The plan combines personnel cuts, centralization of functions, and consolidation of HHS divisions, including:
The current 82,000 full-time employees will be reduced to 62,000
28 divisions will be consolidated to 15
10 regional offices will become 5
Human Resources, Information Technology, Procurement, External Affairs, and Policy will be centralized.
Regarding FDA, CDC, NIH, and CMS:
FDA will decrease its workforce by approximately 3,500 full-time employees, with a focus on streamlining operations and centralizing administrative functions. This reduction will not affect drug, medical device, or food reviewers, nor will it impact inspectors.
The CDC will decrease its workforce by approximately 2,400 employees, with a focus on returning to its core mission of preparing for and responding to epidemics and outbreaks. This includes moving ASPR under CDC to enhance coordination of response efforts. NOTE: The “CDC” decrease would only be 1,400 if you included the individuals coming over from ASPR (approx. 1,000 individuals).
The NIH will decrease its workforce by approximately 1,200 employees by centralizing procurement, human resources, and communications across its 27 institutes and centers.
CMS will decrease its workforce by approximately 300 employees, with a focus on reducing minor duplication across the agency. This reorganization will not impact Medicare and Medicaid services.
The consolidation and cuts are designed not only to save money, but to make the organization more efficient and more responsive to Americans’ needs, and to implement the Make America Healthy Again goal of ending the chronic disease epidemic.
No additional cuts are currently planned, but the Department will continue to look for further ways to streamline its operations and agencies.
A new Administration for a Healthy America (AHA) will consolidate the OASH, HRSA, SAMHSA, ATSDR, and NIOSH, so as to more efficiently coordinate chronic care and disease prevention programs and harmonize health resources to low-income Americans. Divisions of AHA include Primary Care, Maternal and Child Health, Mental Health, Environmental Health, HIV/AIDS, and Workforce, with support of the U.S. Surgeon General and Policy team.
HHS will have a new Assistant Secretary for Enforcement to provide oversight of the Departmental Appeals Board (DAB), Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeal (OMHA), and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to combat waste, fraud, and abuse.
HHS will combine the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) into the Office of Strategy to conduct research that informs the Secretary’s policies and evaluates the effectiveness of the Department’s programs for a healthier America.
The critical programs within the Administration for Community Living (ACL) that support older adults and people of all ages with disabilities will be split across the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
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No matter how needed this beginning of consolidations are, there will be the same uproar and negative press and more clutching of pearls. The focus of so many reports of these changes are inaccurate and misleading. I can hardly stand to listen to any of the news reports and yet I must know what is being reported that the majority, still, listen to and believe. Small steps leading to big changes! HOORAY!
Unbelievably good news. Now all Kennedy has to do is bring the pharmaceutical industry and the medical schools to heel. Then identify the poison food industries are spiking our food with and stop them from doing it. Then identify farming/ranching practices that are healthy and sustainable and roll out a plan for how these practices can be implemented without causing food shortages or bankrupting agriculture producers. Something has to be done about the childhood vaccine schedule as well.
Our HHS secretary has his work cut out for him. I’m awfully glad we have him on board. I pray for Trump and all of his team often. God bless and guide each of them as they attempt to destroy the evil known as the “deep state”.