Health and Human Services (HHS)
What is Health and Human Services?
Health and Human Services (HHS), also referred to as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a federal agency that preserves the health and well-being of people in the U.S. HHS does this by supporting and promoting public health, social services and medicine. HHS often works with local, State and Indigenous governments.
Programs within HHS include
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
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Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
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Indian Health Service (IHS)
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National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Why is Health and Human Services important to healthcare?
Health and Human Services is important to healthcare because it collaborates with many public and private organizations to provide benefits and assistance to people across all life stages, particularly those in most need. In particular, HHS focuses on four critical areas of healthcare: the opioid crisis, health insurance reform, drug pricing and value-based care. HHS also protects the safety of people in the U.S. by reporting data breaches that occur in healthcare organizations.