EPOCH TIMES – Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), on March 27 announced major changes at HHS, including the merging of some divisions, in a bid to become more efficient.
Kennedy said that, in addition to consolidating divisions, mass layoffs would reduce the full-time HHS workforce by about 25 percent from 82,000 workers.
Kennedy said the transition will be painful but that the department is “going to do more with less.”
The reorganization, which will take 28 divisions down to 15, is expected to save $1.8 billion per year, according to health officials.
The division that will be most affected is the Food and Drug Administration, with about 3,500 workers being fired, according to HHS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s workforce will be reduced by about 2,400 employees.
Some 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health will no longer have jobs.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, another division, will move forward with about 300 fewer workers.
HHS said in a statement that many of the divisions contain “redundant units.” Officials are going to consolidate the units into 15 divisions.
One new division, the Administration for a Healthy America, will feature five former divisions, including the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which is responsible for responding to public health emergencies and national disasters, will be folded into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation will merge with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to form the Office of Strategy, with a focus on enhancing research “that informs the Secretary’s policies and improves the effectiveness of federal health programs” …
