A former HHS secretary’s fears for America’s future

April 2, 2025

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In this week's episode of the First Opinion Podcast, Donna Shalala, who served as Health and Human Services secretary under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001, discusses her career in public health and her frustration with what's happening at HHS now.

She spoke with STAT editor Torie Bosch on Monday morning, after the reorganization of the department was announced but before "reduction in force" layoffs began Tuesday. The conversation was based in part on a recent First Opinion essay she wrote arguing that the reorganization was "silly" and "confusing."

"If you just looked at the economics of this, vaccines are one of the few ways we save money in health care. We don't save money when we have a scientific breakthrough necessarily. We don't save money when we introduce a new medical device. But we do save money when we get all of our children and all of our seniors vaccinated," she said.

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