Hickenlooper, Colleagues Urge Trump Admin to Address Health Impacts of Mass Layoffs at HHS

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reportedly fired 20,000 workers
Layoffs will hurt vulnerable populations, undermine lifesaving research, and weaken American public health
WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined 37 of his Senate colleagues to
call
on the Trump administration to address the devastating impacts that the administration’s mass layoffs at HHS will have on Americans’ health and well-being.
“Your plan to eliminate 20,000 HHS employees and consolidate core agencies is an unprecedented and baseless assault on the federal workforce and the hundreds of millions of Americans who rely on the Department’s services,”
wrote the senators.
“If you do not reverse course, you will do irreparable damage to our nation’s human services, health care delivery, public health, and scientific infrastructure – making Americans sicker and leaving our communities ill-prepared for future threats.”
The letter comes after the
announcement
that HHS began to dismantle the agency and fire over 20,000 HHS workers, including workers responsible for the well-being of seniors and people with disabilities and research to promote health care quality.
The senators highlighted the devastating impact these reckless HHS layoffs would have on critical services that Americans depend on, including:
Care for seniors, people with disabilities, and children
Development of life-saving drugs and treatments
Basic access to primary care
Public health programs and pandemic preparedness
Access to mental health services
Timely Medicare and Medicaid payments
Rural health care
The full text of the letter is available
HERE
.
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