United States Department of Health and Human Services


The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to set guidelines for the private healthcare system and providing essential human services in areas such as finding medical studies. Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. HHS is administered by the secretary of health and human services, who is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the uniformed service of the U.S. Public Health Service, is led by the surgeon general who is responsible for addressing matters concerning public health as authorized by the secretary or by the assistant secretary for health in addition to their primary mission of administering the Commissioned Corps.

History

Federal Security Agency

The Federal Security Agency was established on July 1, 1939, under the Reorganization Act of 1939, P.L. 76–19. The objective was to bring together in one agency all federal programs in the fields of health, education, and social security. The first Federal Security Administrator was Paul V. McNutt. The new agency originally consisted of the following major components: Office of the Administrator, Public Health Service, Office of Education, Civilian Conservation Corps, and Social Security Board.

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was created on April 11, 1953, when Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953 became effective. HEW thus became the first new Cabinet-level department since the Department of Labor was created in 1913. The Reorganization Plan abolished the FSA and transferred all of its functions to the secretary of HEW and all components of the agency to the department. The first secretary of HEW was Oveta Culp Hobby, a native of Texas, who had served as commander of the Women's Army Corps in World War II and was editor and publisher of the Houston Post. Sworn in on April 11, 1953, as secretary, she had been FSA administrator since January 21, 1953.
The six major program-operating components of the new department were the Public Health Service, the Office of Education, the Food and Drug Administration, the Social Security Administration, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and St. Elizabeth's Hospital. The department was also responsible for three federally aided corporations: Howard University, the American Printing House for the Blind, and the Columbia Institution for the Deaf.

Department of Health and Human Services

The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was renamed the Department of Health and Human Services on October 17, 1979, when its education functions were transferred to the newly created United States Department of Education under the Department of Education Organization Act. HHS was left in charge of the Social Security Administration, agencies constituting the Public Health Service, and Family Support Administration.
In 1995, the Social Security Administration was removed from the Department of Health and Human Services, and established as an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States government.
The 2010 United States federal budget established a reserve fund of more than $630 billion over 10 years to finance fundamental reform of the health care system.
In February 2025 it was reported that DHHS planned to "eliminate public participation in many of the agency's policy decisions."
Planned changes as part of the announced 2025 HHS reorganization include merging five existing agencies into a new Administration for a Healthy America, reorienting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention towards infectious disease programs, and breaking up the Administration for Community Living. In addition, the plan proposes a reduction in workforce totaling about 20,000 full-time employees throughout HHS through multiple avenues, with the greatest relative reductions to the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which are each expected to reduce their workforce by 20%.

Organization

The Department of Health and Human Services is led by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, a member of the United States Cabinet appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate. The secretary is assisted in managing the department by the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is also appointed by the president. The secretary and deputy secretary are further assisted by seven assistant secretaries, who serve as top departmental administrators.
The following organizational structure is current as of the beginning of 2025. It is planned to be significantly changed by the announced 2025 HHS reorganization, which is planned to reduce the number of top-level HHS divisions from 28 to 15.

U.S. Public Health Service

Within HHS is a collection of agencies and offices that fall under the Public Health Service. The PHS also is home to the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The operating agencies that are part of PHS are:
This list includes the HHS operating agencies that do not fall under PHS:
The HHS staff offices outside of PHS are:
The Department of Health and Human Services was authorized a budget for fiscal year 2020 of $1.293 trillion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows:
ProgramBudget authority
Food and Drug Administration$3,329
Health Resources and Services Administration$11,004
Indian Health Service$6,104
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention$6,767
National Institutes of Health$33,669
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration$5,535
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality$0
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services$1,169,091
Administration for Children and Families$52,121
Administration for Community Living$1,997
Departmental Management$340
Non-Recurring Expense Fund$-400
Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals$186
Office of the National Coordinator$43
Office for Civil Rights$30
Office of Inspector General$82
Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund$2,667
Program Support Center$749
Offsetting Collections$-629
Other Collections$-163
TOTAL$1,292,523

The FY2020 budget included a $1.276 billion budget decrease for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a $4.533 billion budget decrease for the National Institutes of Health. These budget cuts, along with other changes since 2019, comprised a total decrease of over $24 billion in revised discretionary budget authority across the entire Department of Health and Human Services for Fiscal Year 2020.
Additional details of the budgeted outlays, budget authority, and detailed budgets for other years, can be found at the HHS Budget website.

Programs

The Department of Health and Human Services administers 115 programs across its 11 operating divisions. The United States Department of Health and Human Services aims to "protect the health of all Americans and provide essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves." These federal programs consist of social service programs, civil rights and healthcare privacy programs, disaster preparedness programs, and health-related research. HHS offers a variety of social service programs geared toward persons with low income, disabilities, military families, and senior citizens. Healthcare rights are defined under HHS in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which protect patient's privacy in regards to medical information, protects workers health insurance when unemployed, and sets guidelines surrounding some health insurance. HHS collaborates with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and Office of Emergency Management to prepare and respond to health emergencies. A broad array of health-related research is supported or completed under the HHS; secondarily under HHS, the Health Resources & Service Administration houses data warehouses and makes health data available surrounding a multitude of topics. HHS also has vast offering of health-related resources and tools to help educate the public on health policies and pertinent population health information. Some examples of available resources include disease prevention, wellness, health insurance information, as well as links to healthcare providers and facilities, meaningful health-related materials, public health, and safety information.
Some highlights include:
  • AI in health and social science research
  • Preventing disease, including immunization services
  • ARPA-H
  • Assuring food and drug safety
  • Medicare and Medicaid
  • Health information technology
  • Financial assistance and services for low-income families
  • Improving maternal and infant health, including a Nurse Home Visitation to support first-time mothers
  • Head Start
  • Faith-based and community initiatives
  • Preventing child abuse and domestic violence
  • Substance abuse treatment and prevention
  • Services for older Americans, including home-delivered meals
  • Comprehensive health services for Native Americans
  • Assets for Independence
  • Medical preparedness for emergencies, including potential terrorism
  • Child support enforcement