The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of the U.S. people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America". Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and health insurance portability standards. In addition to these programs, CMS has other responsibilities, including the administrative simplification standards from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), quality standards in long-term care facilities through its survey and certification process, clinical laboratory quality standards under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, and oversight of HealthCare.gov. CMS was previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) until 2001.
The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. The surgeon general's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), which is housed within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.
The United States federal executive departments are the principal units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States. They are analogous to ministries common in parliamentary or semi-presidential systems but they are led by a head of government who is also the head of state. The executive departments are the administrative arms of the president of the United States. There are currently 15 executive departments.
Xavier Becerra is an American attorney and politician serving as the 25th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, a position he has held since March 2021. He is the first Latino to hold this position in history. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from January 2017 until March 2021. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Downtown Los Angeles in Congress from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Becerra was Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017.
Wilbur Joseph Cohen was an American social scientist and civil servant. He was one of the key architects in the creation and expansion of the American welfare state and was involved in the creation of both the New Deal and Great Society programs.
Sylvia Mary Burwell is an American government and non-profit executive who was the 15th president of American University from June 1, 2017 to June 30, 2024. Burwell is the first woman to serve as the university's president. Burwell earlier served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. President Barack Obama nominated Burwell on April 11, 2014. Burwell's nomination was confirmed by the Senate on June 5, 2014, by a vote of 78–17. She served as Secretary until the end of the Obama administration. Previously, she had been the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget from 2013 to 2014.
Thomas Andrew Scully is an American lawyer and former government official. He was the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from 2001 to 2004 under President George W. Bush. Scully is currently a general partner at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity investment firm, where he focuses on health care investments. Scully is also principal at Federal Health Policy Strategies and a partner at its affiliated law firm Scully, Roskey & Missmar, where he focuses on health care regulatory and legislative matters, as well as on advising clients on health policy and strategies for health care delivery.
The Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services is the Chief Operating Officer of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The deputy secretary oversees all operations within the Department, including overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, public health, medical research, food and drug safety, welfare, child and family services, disease prevention, Indian health, and mental health services. The current Deputy Secretary is Andrea Palm, who was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 11, 2021.
Jeanne Lambrew is a United States professor of public affairs and health policy. She served in the Obama administration as Deputy Director of the White House Office of Health Reform.
In the United States, a public health emergency declaration releases resources meant to handle an actual or potential public health crisis. Recent examples include:
William V. Corr is an American attorney and former government official. He served as Chief of Staff for the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the administration of President Bill Clinton and as Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2015.
Daniel Ronald Levinson is an American attorney who served as Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from September 8, 2004, to May 31, 2019. HHS is among the largest departments in the federal government, encompassing Medicare, Medicaid, public health, medical research, food and drug safety, welfare, child and family services, disease prevention, Indian health, and mental health services. It also exercises leadership responsibilities in public health emergency preparedness and combating bio-terrorism.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) is the principal advisory group to the United States Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on policy development and provides coordination and support for HHS's strategic and policy planning, planning and development of legislation, program evaluation, data gathering, policy-related research, and regulatory program.
Don Irvin Wortman was a U.S. federal government administrator who served 27 years in senior-level executive positions in many federal government agencies. He was Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) from December 13, 1977, to October 4, 1978. In early 1977, while working at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW)—precursor to the Department of Health and Human Services—he was Chairman of the task force for implementing the reorganization of HEW. This reorganization included the merging of the Medicare and Medicaid programs into a new agency; this agency was named the Health Care Financing Administration. He became the first Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration. On two occasions—6 months in 1975 and the first 3 months of 1977—he was Acting Administrator of the Social and Rehabilitation Services, the agency which, at that time, administered the Medicaid program and the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program.
Seema Verma is a General Manager and Executive Vice President at Oracle Corporation. She was administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the first Donald Trump administration. During her tenure, she was involved in efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as well as reduce Medicaid benefits and increase restrictions on Medicaid. She was embroiled in ethics and legal controversies related to her use of taxpayer money while in office.
Stephen T. Parente is an American health economist. He currently serves as a Professor of Finance and the Minnesota Insurance Industry Chair at the Carlson School of Management and Finance at the University of Minnesota. In April 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Parente to be Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Chiquita W. Brooks-LaSure is an American healthcare policy official who has been the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the Biden administration since May 2021.
