NEW ORLEANS - The announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to lay off 10,000 workers and close half of its regional offices is potentially poised to have significant implications for Louisiana. The HHS's Dallas regional office, which oversees Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, is among those facing potential closure.
The department will downsize to 62,000 positions from 82,000, losing nearly a quarter of its staff, with 10,000 jobs being shed through layoffs and another 10,000 shed when staff accepted early retirement and voluntary separation offers.
Programs like the National Diabetes Prevention Program, the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program, and the Obesity Prevention Program are funded nationally by the CDC which provides funds, grants, and resources to Louisiana health departments and agencies. Without support, these programs could suffer.
"We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The closure of the Dallas regional office may lead to diminished oversight of initiatives like the Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Program. Louisiana runs several programs under this umbrella including programs to reduce heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Maternal health programs, such as the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, which help reduce maternal mortality and improve prenatal and postnatal care, could also experience delays or funding reductions. Perinatal regionalization programs, which ensure that high-risk pregnancies have access to specialized care, may be impacted by restructuring if resources are reduced or redirected. Louisiana’s participation in the federal Healthy Start initiative, which aims to lower infant mortality and improve maternal health, may also face setbacks if federal support is diminished.
Louisiana already suffers from high infant and maternal mortality rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2022 we ranked 47th compared with other states regarding infant mortality. Without sufficient funding and oversight of programs, Louisiana could face increased mortality rates.
“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” Secretary Kennedy said. “This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again.”
The HHS, which oversees the federally run health insurance programs of Medicare and Medicaid, said that these programs will “remain intact."
HHS provided the following breakdown of cuts:
— 3,500 jobs at the FDA, which inspects and sets safety standards for medications, medical devices and foods.
— 2,400 jobs at the CDC, which monitors for infectious disease outbreaks and works with public health agencies nationwide.
— 1,200 jobs at the NIH, the world's leading public health research arm.
— 300 jobs at CMS, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to dissolve the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Both will be folded into the new “Administration for a Healthy America.”
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is being merged with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) while the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is being absorbed into the CDC.
The CDC, with a core budget of more than $9 billion and charged with protecting Americans from disease outbreaks and other public health threats, had more than 13,000 employees and nearly 13,000 other contract workers at the beginning of the year. At least 550 probationary employees were laid off in Feb., although those layoffs were challenged in lawsuits and two federal judges ordered that the employees be reinstated.
