The US Department of Health and Human Services plans to cut 10,000 jobs across federal health agencies, eliminating about one-fourth of all federal health agency positions. The cuts are expected to save $1.8 billion annually.
The FDA will lose 3,500 full-time employees, while the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will cut around 300 staff members. However, advocates worry that additional congressional cuts could impact coverage for low-income Americans under Medicaid.
The CDC and NIH will also experience significant job losses, with 2,400 and 1,200 positions eliminated respectively. The National Institutes of Health’s funding will be streamlined, but concerns remain about the impact on research and innovation.
Experts warn that these changes could lead to slowdowns in the delivery of health services and negatively affect public health initiatives. “Getting everybody into the same system means there will be slowdowns,” said JP Leider, director for the Center for Public Health Systems at the University of Minnesota.
Source: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/03/27/rfk-jr-hhs-cuts-food-safety-cdc-fda/82688365007