Policy ICU

From a longtime HHS contractor – “There is no shortage of duplication (in HHS) and streamlining is good, but this is extreme. I don’t know how things will get done with so fewer people.”

1. Fear of loss of federal funding (not new), in general and tied to any DEI language;
2. Tariffs raising the cost of devices, supplies, medicines, etc.;
3. Cuts in medicaid that would be devastating (not new);
4. Recession and tariffs driving unemployment, causing even more people to go onto medicaid or without coverage;
5. Recession making it harder for people to cover high deductibles, leading to more bad debt;
6. Drop in philanthropy due to recession (philanthropy for many systems is a huge source of revenue); and
7. Stock market tanking hurting their investment income.

“We didn’t have an understanding of the premise of the HHS layoffs, but we are going to find out.” – Rep. Diana Harshbarger

“We have a healthcare system that is predicated on Americans being sick.” – Calley Means, Special Government Employee