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| Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Agency name | Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation |
| Formed | 1968 |
| Jurisdiction | United States Department of Health and Human Services |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Parent agency | United States Department of Health and Human Services |
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation is an advisory entity within the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides analytic support for policy decisions, program evaluation, and legislative proposals. It produces quantitative and qualitative studies informing secretaries, presidents, and congressional committees, and collaborates with federal entities such as the Office of Management and Budget, Congressional Budget Office, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The office traces its origins to postwar policy planning initiatives during the administrations of Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon and formalized functions that mirror units in the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, and National Security Council in responding to domestic policy challenges such as the creation of Medicare, Medicaid, and later reforms tied to the Affordable Care Act. Over successive presidencies including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, the office adapted to shifts in priorities exemplified by bipartisan legislation like the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It has collaborated with agencies such as the Social Security Administration, Department of Labor, Department of Education, and research bodies like the National Institutes of Health and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The office's mission aligns with executive priorities articulated by presidents including Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy to integrate planning, evaluation, and analytic capacity across departments. Responsibilities include policy analysis related to Medicare Part A, Medicaid expansion, public health initiatives tied to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, budgetary modeling used by the Office of Management and Budget, and regulatory impact assessments relevant to the Federal Register process. It supports statutory mandates from Congress committees such as the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, and produces data used by stakeholders ranging from AARP to academic centers like Harvard Kennedy School and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Organized into divisions and offices comparable to analytic units in the Department of Defense and the Treasury Department, the office contains teams focused on health policy, behavioral health, economic analysis, and demographic research. It maintains liaison roles with program offices like the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration and collaborates with advisory bodies such as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Council of Economic Advisers. Staffing includes economists, statisticians, health services researchers, and policy analysts drawn from institutions like Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, RAND Corporation, and universities including Yale University and Columbia University.
The office conducts microsimulation modeling, cost-effectiveness analysis, and program evaluation using methods advanced by scholars at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of Chicago. Analytical products inform debates over entitlement reforms seen in legislation similar to proposals from the Heritage Foundation and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and address public health emergencies addressed by World Health Organization guidance and responses coordinated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Research topics have included long-term care financing, prescription drug pricing, social determinants of health studied by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and behavioral interventions evaluated in trials akin to those published in The New England Journal of Medicine and Health Affairs.
The office issues technical reports, policy briefs, and white papers that have been cited in hearings before the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Notable publications analyze federal projections similar in scope to reports from the Congressional Budget Office and Government Accountability Office, and synthesize evidence comparable to studies from the Pew Research Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Its work has informed major initiatives such as proposals to modify Medicare Part D, redesign payment models inspired by Accountable Care Organization pilots, and evaluations of programs funded under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Engagement spans executive entities like the Office of Management and Budget, legislative offices including the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and external stakeholders such as state health agencies, advocacy groups like Kaiser Family Foundation, professional associations including the American Medical Association and American Hospital Association, and philanthropic organizations like the Gates Foundation. The office convenes interagency working groups, partners with academic consortia at institutions like University of Michigan and University of California, Berkeley, and participates in international dialogues involving the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and World Bank.
Leadership has included economists and policy scholars who later served in administrations, Congress, and academia, with career trajectories similar to figures who moved between the Council of Economic Advisers, Congressional Budget Office, and university faculties such as Harvard University and Princeton University. Notable officeholders have engaged with leaders from think tanks like Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation and testified before committees chaired by members of the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.
Category:United States Department of Health and Human Services