United States Department of Health and Human Services

Dept. of Health and Human Services

Established:	October 17, 1979
Activated:	May 4, 1980
Secretary:	Tommy Thompson
Deputy Secretary:	Claude A. Allen
Budget:	$543.2 billion (2004)
Employees:	67,000 (2004)

The United States Department of Health and Human Services, often abbreviated HHS, is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services.

The department was created when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Education Organization Act (PL 96-88) into law on October 17, 1979. It split the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, (HEW), which included the G.I. Bill and Veterans' Administration into the Department of Health and Human Services and the United States Department of Education. Both began operation on May 4, 1980.

It is administered by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is appointed by the President of the United States. Individual states' agencies are known as the Department of Health Services such as the CDHS, California Department of Health Services.

The United States Public Health Service, led by the Surgeon General, is the uniformed service of this agency.

Table of contents

1 Operating units 2 Related legislation 3 External links

Operating units

• Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (OS)
• Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
• Administration on Aging (AOA)
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration).
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
• Indian Health Service (IHS)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH),
• Program Support Center (PSC),
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

It no longer includes the Social Security Administration, which was made independent in 1995.

Related legislation

• 1946 - Hospital Survey and Construction Act (Hill-Burton Act) PL 79-725
• 1949 - Hospital Construction Act PL 81-380
• 1950 - Public Health Services Act Amendments PL 81-692
• 1955 - Poliomyelitis Vaccination Assistance Act PL 84-377
• 1956 - Health Research Facilities Act PL 84-835
• 1960 - Social Security Amendments (Kerr-Mill aid) PL 86-778
• 1961 - Community Health Services and Facilities Act PL 87-395
• 1962 - Public Health Services Act PL 87-838
• 1962 - Vaccination Assistance PL 87-868
• 1963 - Mental Retardation Facilities Construction Act/Community Mental Health Centers Act PL 88-164
• 1964 - Nurse Training Act PL 88-581
• 1965 - Community Health Services and Facilities Act PL 89-109
• 1965 - Medicare PL 89-97
• 1965 - Mental Health Centers Act Amendments PL 89-105
• 1965 - Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke Amendments PL 89-239
• 1966 - Comprehensive Health Planning and Service Act PL 89-749
• 1970 - Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act PL 91-695
• 1970 - Community Mental Health Service Act PL 91-211
• 1971 - National Cancer Act PL 92-218
• 1974 - Research on Aging Act PL 93-296
• 1974 - National Health Planning and Resources Development Act PL 93-641
• 1979 - Department of Education Organization Act (Created HHS) PL 96-88
• 1987 - Department of Transportation Appropriations Act (Smoking ban on flights) PL 100-202
• 1988 - Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act PL 100-360
• 1989 - Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (Smoking ban on flights) PL 101-164

External links

• United States Department of Health and Human Services Official Website

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