Department of Health and Human Services

The Department of Health and Human Services oversees federal efforts to protect public health, advance medical research, and administer the country’s largest health insurance and social service programs. It sets policy on everything from drug approval and disease control to health coverage for older adults, low-income families, and children, and it funds much of the research and public health infrastructure that states and hospitals rely on.

Disease prevention and medical research fall to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which tracks outbreaks and sets vaccine and safety guidance, and the National Institutes of Health, which funds and conducts the biomedical research behind new treatments and clinical trials.

Product safety and health coverage are handled by the Food and Drug Administration, which reviews and approves drugs, vaccines, and medical devices before they reach the public, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which runs Medicare, Medicaid, and the marketplace subsidies that help people afford insurance.

Family and community support services are the focus of the Administration for Children and Families, which addresses child welfare, abuse prevention, and support for caregivers, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, which funds clinics, health workforce programs, and safety-net services for underserved communities.

Mental health and addiction fall under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which funds treatment programs and shapes how the federal government defines and responds to substance use disorders and mental illness.