United States Department of Health and Human Services

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Agency name	United States Department of Health and Human Services
Formed	1980
Preceding1	United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Jurisdiction	United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Chief1 name	Xavier Becerra
Chief1 position	Secretary of Health and Human Services
Parent agency	Executive Office of the President of the United States

Contents

United States Department of Health and Human Services is the federal cabinet-level department responsible for protecting the health and well-being of Americans through social services and health policy implementation. It administers major programs affecting Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Act provisions, and public health initiatives, interacting with agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health.

History

The department originated after reorganization proposals in the 1970s that split the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into separate cabinets, formalized by legislation signed during the administration of Jimmy Carter and debated in hearings involving members of United States Congress committees and testimony from officials associated with the Social Security Administration, Public Health Service, and legal scholars from institutions like Harvard University and Columbia University. Early leaders coordinated with officials from the Office of Management and Budget, litigators from the Supreme Court of the United States docket, and public health figures linked to the World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization. The department's history includes responses to crises such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, coordination with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during outbreaks, and implementation of statutes like the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act following legislative action by the 111th United States Congress.

The department's leadership is headed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, a cabinet officer nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. Day-to-day operations are overseen by deputies and the Assistant Secretary for Health, who liaise with leaders from the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Administration for Children and Families. The department contains regional offices that coordinate with state-level entities such as the California Department of Health Care Services, the New York State Department of Health, and tribal authorities represented through consultations with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Senior policy advisers frequently engage with stakeholders from academic centers including Johns Hopkins University, University of California, San Francisco, and think tanks like the Brookings Institution.

Annual appropriations for the department are enacted by the United States Congress through spending bills that allocate resources to mandatory programs like Medicare and discretionary activities including research at the National Institutes of Health and regulatory operations at the Food and Drug Administration. Budget negotiations often involve the House Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and executive branch guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, with contested provisions during fiscal debates in sessions of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Funding mechanisms include trust funds established under the Social Security Act, emergency supplemental appropriations authorized during public health crises, and grants distributed through formulas influenced by census data from the United States Census Bureau.

The department issues regulations under statutes enacted by the United States Congress and enforces standards affecting pharmaceuticals overseen by the Food and Drug Administration, clinical research funded by the National Institutes of Health, and public health guidance produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Regulatory rulemaking follows procedures in the Administrative Procedure Act and is subject to judicial review in federal courts such as the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and occasionally the Supreme Court of the United States. HHS policy initiatives have included implementation of provisions from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and administration of program integrity enforcement that coordinates with the Department of Justice on fraud and abuse matters under statutes like the False Claims Act.

The department leads federal public health preparedness and emergency response in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state health departments such as the Texas Department of State Health Services, and international partners including the World Health Organization. HHS components coordinate biomedical advanced research and development through initiatives like partnerships with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and vaccine programs with manufacturers and academic partners. Responses to crises such as the 2009 swine flu pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic involved coordination among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to issue guidance, authorize medical countermeasures, and distribute funding under emergency authorities supported by the Public Health Service Act.