Every country and/ or state has a Department of Health that is responsible for enhancing the overall health of the state and focuses on offering essential health services to all citizens. In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services.
The US Department of Health and Human Services is comprised of the Office of the Secretary and 11 operating divisions. The operations of the HHS are conducted by these entities. The various subdivisions of the Office of the Secretary provide direct support for the Secretary’s initiatives.
The Department of Health and Human Services has over three hundred programs that cover a wide range of activities. These programs are administered by 11 operating divisions, including eight agencies in the U.S. Public Health Service and three human services agencies.
Some of the subdivisions of the Office of the Secretary include
Office of the Deputy Secretary (DS): This office directs operations of the largest civilian department in the federal government.
Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA): This office supports the communication regarding initiatives of the HHS with state, local, and tribal governments.
Office of the Secretary’s Regional Directors: This office oversees regional and state office directors. Regional offices are present in various areas of 10 cities of the US which include Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco and Seattle
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE): This office is responsible for directing the major activities in policy coordination, legislation development, strategic planning, policy research, evaluation, and economic analysis
The HHS also works closely with several agencies. These agencies perform a wide variety of tasks and health services which include conducting research in various areas, ensuring food and drug safety, appropriation of grants and other funding, providing health insurance, and many others.
Some of the major agencies that are associated to the activities of the HHS include:
NIH: The National Institute of Health is a premier medical research organization, supporting over 38,000 research projects nationwide.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – This agency is dedicated to improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – The FDA ascertains the safety of foods and cosmetics, and the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals, biological products, and medical devices.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – The CDC works closely with states and other partners and provides a system of health surveillance to monitor and prevent disease outbreaks. The Centre implements disease prevention strategies and maintains national health statistics. The Centre provides various health services such as immunization services, workplace safety, and environmental disease prevention.
The services funded by the Department of Health and Human Services are provided at the local level by state or county agencies, or through private sector grantees. In addition to the services they deliver, the HHS programs provide for impartial treatment of beneficiaries nationwide, and they enable the collection of national health and other data.
The Department of Health and Human Services also provides the highest amount of grants compared to all other grants administered by other federal agencies put together. In fact Medicare program of the HHS is the nation’s largest health insurer, handling more than 1 billion claims per year. Medicare and Medicaid together provide health care insurance for one in four Americans.
In the US each state has a Department of health that is committed to delivering a variety of health services and ensuring that all Americans receive the hest health care without any discrimination.

