Planned job cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are raising alarms as health experts and Democratic lawmakers warn that this could lead to a privatization of critical health services, endangering the United States’ ability to respond to future health crises. According to Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, 20,000 workers, which represents about a quarter of HHS’s workforce, are expected to be laid off. Patty Murray, the senator from Washington and the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, emphasized that these cuts could impede the government’s response to public health threats, including pandemics and epidemics. HHS oversees various crucial agencies, such as the CDC, NIH, CMS, and the FDA, which are all facing budgetary cuts. Murray, along with other critics, argues that these cuts would facilitate the transition of public health services to private entities, a move that could compromise the effectiveness of these services given the profit-driven nature of private companies. Democrats claimed that there was a lack of information provided regarding the specifics of the cuts, leading to panic among federal employees. Former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf also voiced his concerns, stating that privatization could exacerbate existing health inequalities. Despite Trump and Kennedy’s “make America healthy again” sloganeering, many experts fear that their plans could ultimately undermine the country’s public health capacities.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/29/health-department-private-sector-takeover