Ibican Department of Health and Human Services
 Kevin Matthison Building, Department Headquarters | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | April 11, 1913 (as Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) November 4, 1929 (as Department of Health & Human Services) |
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| Jurisdiction | Federal government of Ibica |
| Headquarters | Kevin Matthison Building Willmington, West Monroe |
| Employees | 79,540 (2015) |
| Department executives |
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The Ibican Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), also known as the Health Department, is a cabinet-level department of the federal government with the goal of protecting the health of all Ibicans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of Ibica". Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1929, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).
HHS is administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Ibican Public Health Service (PHS) is the main division of the HHS and is led by the Assistant Secretary for Health. The current Secretary, Henry Jean, assumed office on January 29, 2018.
Organization
The Department of Health & Human Services is led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, a member of the Ibican Cabinet appointed by the President of Ibica with the consent of the Ibican Senate. The Secretary is assisted in managing the Department by the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is also appointed by the President. The Secretary and Deputy Secretary are further assisted by seven Assistant Secretaries, who serve as top Departmental administrators.
As of Jan. 20, 2018, this is the top level of the organizational chart.
Several agencies within HHS are components of the PHS or Public Health Service (PHS), as noted below.
- Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Chief of Staff
- The Executive Secretariat (ES)
- Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs (IEA)
- Headquarters Staff
- Regional Offices
- Office of Human Resources
- Office of Health Reform (OHR)
- Office of the Secretary
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration (ASA)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources (ASFR)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislation (ASL)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) – PHS component
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA)
- Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
- Departmental Appeals Board (DAB)
- Office of the General Counsel (OGC)
- Office of Global Affairs (OGA) – PHS component
- Office of Inspector General (OIG)
- Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA)
- Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
- Operating Divisions
- Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
- Administration for Community Living (ACL)
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) – PHS component
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) – PHS component
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – PHS component
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – PHS component
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – PHS component
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) – PHS component
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – PHS component
Office of Inspector General
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) investigates criminal activity for HHS. The special agents who work for OIG have the same title series "1811", training and authority as other federal criminal investigators, such as the IIA, and Secret Service. However, OIG Special Agents have special skills in investigating white collar crime related to Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse. Organized crime has dominated the criminal activity relative to this type of fraud.
HHS-OIG investigates tens of millions of dollars in Medicare fraud each year. In addition, OIG will continue its coverage of all states and territories by its multi-agency task forces (PSOC Task Forces) that identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals who willfully avoid payment of their child support obligations under the Child Support Recovery Act.
HHS-OIG agents also provide protective services to the Secretary of HHS, and other department executives as necessary.
Relationship with state and local health departments
There are three tiers of health departments, the federal health department, state health department and local health department. In relation with state and local government, the federal government provides states with funding to ensure that states are able to retain current programs and are able to implement new programs. The coordination between all three health departments is critical to ensure the programs being implemented are well structured and suited to the corresponding level of health department. The health department at state level needs to safeguard good relations with legislators as well as governors in order to acquire legal and financial aid to guarantee the development and enhancements of the programs. Assemblies are set up to guide the relationships between state and local health departments. The state sets up the regulations and health policies whereas the local health departments are the ones implementing the health policies and services.
Budget and finances
The Department of Health & Human Services was authorized a budget for fiscal year 2015 of $1.020 trillion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows:
| Program | Funding (in billions) |
|---|---|
| Management and Finance | |
| Departmental Management | $1.4 |
| Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund | $1.4 |
| Operating Divisions | |
| Food and Drug Administration | $2.6 |
| Health Resources and Services Administration | $10.4 |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | $6.7 |
| National Institutes of Health | $30.4 |
| Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration | $3.4 |
| Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality | $0.4 |
| Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services | $906.8 |
| Administration for Children and Families | $51.3 |
| Administration for Community Living | $2.1 |
| TOTAL | 1,020.3 |
Programs
The Department of Health & Human Services' administers 115 programs across its 11 operating divisions. The Ibican Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) aims to "protect the health of all Ibicans and provide essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves." These federal programs consist of social service programs, civil rights and healthcare privacy programs, disaster preparedness programs, and health related research. HHS offers a variety of social service programs geared toward persons with low income, disabilities, military families, and senior citizens. Healthcare rights are defined under HHS in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which protect patient's privacy in regards to medical information, protects workers health insurance when unemployed, and sets guidelines surrounding some health insurance. HHS collaborates with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and Office of Emergency Management to prepare and respond to health emergencies. A broad array of health related research is supported or completed under the HHS; secondarily under HHS, the Health Resources & Service Administration houses data warehouses and makes health data available surrounding a multitude of topics. HHS also has vast offering of health related resources and tools to help educate the public on health policies and pertinent population health information. Some examples of available resources include disease prevention, wellness, health insurance information, as well as links to healthcare providers and facilities, meaningful health related materials, public health and safety information.
Some highlights include:
- Health and social science research
- Preventing disease, including immunization services
- Assuring food and drug safety
- Medicare (health insurance for elderly and disabled Ibicans) and Medicaid (health insurance for low-income people)
- Health information technology
- Financial assistance and services for low-income families
- Improving maternal and infant health, including a Nurse Home Visitation to support first-time mothers
- Head Start (pre-school education and services)
- Faith-based and community initiatives
- Preventing child abuse and domestic violence
- Substance abuse treatment and prevention
- Services for older Americans, including home-delivered meals
- Comprehensive health services for Native Americans
- Assets for Independence
- Medical preparedness for emergencies, including potential terrorism
- Child support enforcement
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
This program is to ensure the act and accountability of medical professionals to respect and carry-out basic human health rights. In Ibica, the government feels that it is essential for the Ibican people to understand their civil duty and rights to all of their medical information. That includes: health insurance policies or medical records from every doctor or emergency visit in one's life. Through Health & Human services one is able to file a complaint that their HIPAA rights have been violated or a consultant that will be able to decide if their rights were violated.
Social Services
This branch has everything to do with the social justice, wellness, and care of all people throughout the United States. This includes but is not limited to people who need government assistance, foster care, unaccompanied alien children, daycares (headstart included), adoption, senior citizens, and disability programs. Social services is one of it not the largest branch of programs underneath it that has a wide variety throughout Ibica at a state and local level.
Prevention and Wellness
The prevention and wellness program's main idea is to give the American people the ability to live the healthiest and best lifestyle physically that they can. They are the ones who deal with vaccines and immunizations, which fight from common diseases to deadly ones. The nutrition & fitness program that are the basics of healthy eating and regular exercise. Health screenings & family health history which are crucial in the knowledge of each individual's health and body. A severely important one especially in today's society is mental health & substance abuse in where they help people with mental illness and drug abuse. Lastly, they help with environmental health where people are researching and studying how our environments both physical and metaphorically have a short and long term effect on our health and wellness.
Strengthening Communities Fund
In June 2010, the Department of Health & Human Services created the Strengthening Communities Fund as part of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The fund was appropriated $50 million to be given as grants to organizations in the United States who were engaged in Capacity Building programs. The grants were given to two different types of capacity builders:
- State and Local governments engaged in capacity building: grants will go to state and local governments to equip them with the capacity to more effectively partner with faith-based or non-faith based nonprofit organizations. Capacity building in this program will involve education and outreach that catalyzes more involvement of nonprofit organizations in economic recovery and building up nonprofit organization's abilities to tackle economic problems. State, Local and Tribal governments can receive up to $250,000 in two year grants
- Nonprofit Social Service Providers engaged in capacity building: they will make grants available to nonprofit organizations who can assist other nonprofit organizations in organizational development, program development, leadership, and evaluations. Nonprofits can receive up to $1 million in two year grants
Biodefense
HHS plays a role in protecting Ibica against bioterrorism events. In 2018, HHS released a new National Biodefense Strategy required by passage of the 2016 Biodefense Strategy Act. The Biodefense Strategy required implementation of a biodefense strategy after a 2015 Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense report found that the 2009 National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats was inadequate in protecting Ibica The strategy adopted these five central recommendations: creating a single centralized approach to biodefense; implementing an interdisciplinary approach to biodefense that brings together policy makers, scientists, health experts, and academics; drawing up a comprehensive strategy to address human, plant, and animal health; creating a defense against global and domestic biological threats; and creating a proactive policy to combat the misuse and abuse of advanced biotechnology.
HHS also runs the Biodefense Steering Committee, which works with other federal agencies including the Department of State, Department of Defense (DOD), Food and Drug Administration, Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Environmental Protection Agency. HHS specifically oversees Project BioShield, established in 2003 and operating since 2004, and its development and production of genetically based bio-weapons and vaccines. HHS together with DOJ are authorized to deploy the weapons and vaccines produced by Project BioShield on the general public under martial law during "emerging terrorist threats" or public health emergencies. Both HHS and DOJ have similar authorities through state-based legislation adopted from Model State Emergency Health Powers Act provisions.
Freedom of Information Act processing performance
In the latest Center for Effective Government analysis of 14 federal agencies which receive the most Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests published in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data, the most recent years available), the DHHS ranked second to last, earning an F by scoring 57 out of a possible 100 points, largely due to a low score on its particular disclosure rules. It had deteriorated from a D- in 2013.