research
Layoffs severely impair data-driven research
The Trump administration has gutted two small federal agencies filled with researchers who study how the health care system functions and how to improve it, according to Tara Bannow and Bob Herman.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation had roughly 150 employees at the start of the year and now has fewer than 50. The layoffs at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality weren't quite as bad as DOGE had threatened, but they were still devastating. AHRQ started the year with over 300 employees, and Tuesday's cuts took out 111 of them.
The two agencies were merged into an Office of Strategy, which is a staff division, not an operating division. That means that the research it does is tightly controlled by Kennedy, an HHS employee said.
The employee described the HHS/DOGE crew to me as "chaos agents."
"Tell us to cut contracts, but first fire the people who could do that," the employee said. "Fire staff but get rid of our HR staff. Set up elaborate approval processes for every new public document but fire all the comms people. DOGE math makes about as much sense as dog math."
Read more from Tara and Bob on what several other former HHS employees had to say.
layoffs
Layoffs and the damage done
STAT reporters wrote several other stories about the layoffs and their implications across HHS agencies.
Helen Branswell, Lizzy, Sarah Owermohle, and Andrew Joseph dove deep into an overview of the layoffs.
There's the account by Lizzy and Sarah Todd about how sweeping cuts pose a challenge to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and give him a chance to reshape the FDA.
Makary's first address to staff on Wednesday afternoon sounded a bit like an introduction to one of his books, Lizzy writes. But he said little about specific plans for his agency or about the layoffs.
Elaine Chen, Lizzy and Isabella Cueto explained how the shuttering of communications and FOIA operations runs counter to Kennedy's pledge of "radical transparency."
Usha Lee McFarling tells us that, for some reason, many employees, including top NIH officials, were offered the chance to transfer to the Indian Health Service.
Helen Branswell and Sarah Owermohle delved into broad CDC cuts that wiped out staff in tobacco control, reproductive health, injury prevention and more, reductions that former (and fired) officials say will severely weaken the agency. HHS's emergency-response unit was also hit with cuts amid the administration's efforts to merge it with CDC.
Rose Broderick tells us how the firings
undermine the federal government's ability to care for vulnerable Americans.
Elizabeth Cooney wrote about the impacts on the local level, including vaccination clinics.
Anil Oza reported that the entire staff that oversaw an annual survey to better understand infant and maternal health — that was considered the gold standard in the field — was placed on administrative leave.
Megan Molteni, Jonathan Wosen, and Jason Mast wrote about the impact on the NIH, including that directors of five institutes and at least two other members of senior leadership were placed on administrative leave or offered new assignments.
in appreciation
Out of office
It's become clear how many federal employees are, or were, reading our free newsletters, based on the bounced emails we've received over the past couple of months from employees whose email accounts have been shut down. Although they likely will not see this message, I'd like to thank them, and I hope they continue to read STAT from personal email accounts.
My favorite out-of-office response: "HHS has terminated the NICHD office of communications. good luck."
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