The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the federal government’s primary agency for protecting public health, funding medical research, regulating food and drugs, and administering health insurance programs that cover tens of millions of Americans. Its official mission is to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans by providing effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social sciences. In practical terms, HHS touches your life every time you take a prescription drug, eat packaged food, visit a doctor through Medicare or Medicaid, or benefit from a vaccine developed with federal research funding.
How HHS Is Organized
HHS operates through 11 distinct agencies, each with a specific focus. Some are household names, others work behind the scenes. The department is led by the HHS Secretary, currently Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who oversees all of these agencies from Washington, D.C.
The agencies most people interact with, directly or indirectly, include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). But the department also runs agencies focused on children and families, older adults, people with disabilities, tribal health care, toxic environmental exposures, substance abuse, and health care quality research.
Health Insurance for Over 70 Million People
The single largest thing HHS does, measured by money, is run Medicare and Medicaid through CMS. Medicare alone covers roughly 69.9 million Americans, primarily people 65 and older along with certain younger people with disabilities. The fiscal year 2025 budget estimates put Medicare payments at about $522 billion and Medicaid grants to states at roughly $384 billion. Combined, that’s over $900 billion flowing through one HHS agency.
Medicaid, which is jointly funded by the federal government and states, provides health coverage for low-income individuals and families. CMS sets the rules, distributes funds to states, and monitors how states run their programs. If you’ve ever used insurance through Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), CMS is the agency behind it.
Food and Drug Safety
The FDA regulates an enormous range of products. The full list includes prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vaccines, medical devices (from tongue depressors to pacemakers), the nation’s food supply (excluding some meat and poultry, which falls to the USDA), dietary supplements, bottled water, infant formula, cosmetics, tobacco products, veterinary drugs, pet food, and even electronic products that emit radiation like microwave ovens and X-ray machines.
Before a new drug or vaccine reaches the market, the FDA reviews clinical trial data to evaluate whether it’s safe and effective. The agency also inspects manufacturing facilities, monitors products after they’re on the market for safety problems, and can issue recalls. If you’ve ever checked whether a supplement or cosmetic was FDA-regulated, the answer is yes, though the level of pre-market review varies by product type.
Medical Research Funding
NIH is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research. In fiscal year 2025, the agency had a total appropriation of $48.5 billion and supported over 55,000 extramural research grants. Most of that money goes to researchers at universities and medical centers across the country and around the world, funding work on everything from cancer and Alzheimer’s disease to rare genetic conditions and infectious diseases.
NIH also runs its own research labs (intramural research) where government scientists conduct studies directly. Many of the treatments, vaccines, and diagnostic tools used in modern medicine trace back to research that NIH funded at some point in the development pipeline.
Disease Surveillance and Prevention
The CDC monitors disease outbreaks and coordinates the national public health response. It uses several surveillance systems to track illness across the country. The most widespread is the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, a passive system where health care providers and labs report cases of diseases that are required by law to be tracked. For diseases where more precision is needed, the CDC also coordinates active surveillance, where health departments directly contact providers on a regular schedule to identify cases, and sentinel surveillance, where a network of recruited hospitals or clinics reports on trends for specific conditions like influenza.
Beyond surveillance, the CDC develops vaccination guidelines, investigates outbreaks, publishes public health guidance, and funds state and local health departments. It’s the agency that responds when new infectious threats emerge and works with local authorities to contain them.
Children, Families, and Social Services
HHS does more than health care. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) runs over 60 programs serving vulnerable populations, including Head Start (early childhood education for low-income families), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, child welfare services, refugee resettlement, and child support enforcement. ACF distributes funding to states, tribes, nonprofits, and other organizations through grants.
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) focuses specifically on older adults and people with disabilities, working to help them live independently in their communities. The Indian Health Service (IHS) provides health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funds treatment programs and prevention efforts for substance use disorders and mental illness.
Privacy and Civil Rights Enforcement
If you’ve ever signed a HIPAA form at a doctor’s office, you’ve encountered another arm of HHS. The department’s Office for Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, which govern how your medical records and health information are handled by doctors, hospitals, insurers, and other covered entities. Privacy Rule enforcement has been in place since 2003, and Security Rule enforcement since 2009. When a health care organization mishandles patient data, OCR investigates and can require systemic changes to how that organization protects information going forward.
Other Specialized Agencies
Two smaller HHS agencies handle niche but important roles. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) produces evidence on what makes health care safer, more effective, and more affordable. Its research often shapes the clinical guidelines doctors follow. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) investigates environmental health threats, such as communities exposed to contaminated water or hazardous waste sites, and advises on how to reduce harmful exposures.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) works to expand access to health care in underserved areas. It funds community health centers, supports training for health care workers, and runs programs aimed at improving care for people who might otherwise fall through the gaps, including those in rural areas and those without insurance.