Statement of Jocelyn Frye, President of the National Partnership for Women & Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 27, 2025 – “The deceptive nature of the Trump Administration’s claim to care about ‘making America healthy again’ was laid bare by today’s announcement to fire 10,000 workers across the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) apparently without regard to the potential harms to the health and well-being of families and health care delivery overall.
“This decision to drastically cut staff will undermine essential services and affect the implementation and oversight of many critical programs. This includes fewer scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor public health threats like Avian flu and the measles outbreak; fewer experts at the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to investigate violations of health privacy and nondiscrimination protections; and fewer people to staff the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)’s National Maternal Mental Health Hotline – a free, confidential, mental health support for moms and their families before, during, and after pregnancy.
“These cuts will also harm the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the nation’s single largest payer for health care. This could upend the lives of women who need health insurance for maternity care, families who need coverage for an adult child with disabilities, and caregivers who need long-term services and supports for their aging relatives.
“Taken together, the elimination of these positions and the haphazard reorganization of agencies and offices are dangerous, will threaten care and services people rely on and undermine protections for consumer rights and privacy.
“The Administration’s cuts will disproportionately harm women, who make up more than 60 percent of the dedicated public servants at HHS. National Partnership will continue to highlight the destructive consequences of these actions – so that the American public understands the havoc this Administration is wreaking upon our country.
“These cuts include dismantling the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the only agency tasked with “maximizing the independence, well-being, and health of older adults, people with disabilities across the lifespan, and their families and caregivers” including the direct care workforces.
“Other agencies and programs potentially at-risk for cuts include The Title X program (HRSA), which provides affordable reproductive health care to those that need it most, including people with low-incomes and people in rural communities.”
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