What does Health and Human Services do?

The agency's cuts will 'dramatically alter' public health in America

a line of workers waiting to collect their belongings after being cut from the Health and Human Services agency
Some of the fired Health and Human Services workers waiting to collect their belongings
(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is undergoing a dramatic restructuring under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with massive cuts to staffing and programs that could alter the face of health and health care in America.

HHS is laying off 10,000 workers and will "shut down entire agencies" as part of the changes, said The Associated Press. That is in addition to 10,000 who have already left voluntarily since the beginning of the Trump Administration. The cuts will affect workers who oversee funding for "addiction services and community health centers across the country." The reductions, Kennedy said, will bring a "sprawling" bureaucracy under control. "We're going to do more with less," he said in an announcement video.

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Joel Mathis, The Week US

Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.