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Article Evaluation: United States Department of Health and Human Services

Federal, State, and Local Department Overview

Health & Human Services is broken into three different sectors; the federal, state, and local level. As of 2018, there are ten regional offices that have separated the states in groups of four to eight. These offices directly work with the state departments, local governments, and tribal councils. The directors from each regional office are appointed directly by the active president. The following map is a visual representation of how the regions are split: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/iea/images/regionsmap.jpg

The following chart shows who each region is ran by: 2017 FY Budget https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fy2018-outlays-piechart.jpg

Programs Overview

There are over a hundred programs that are under the operation of Health and Human Services. The department has a few main branches of programs which are as follows: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Health Insurance, Social Services, Public Health & Safety, Prevention & Wellness and Emergency Preparedness & Responses. From these branches, programs start to become more individualized and personal for each state. Following is a broad overview for each branch.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA):

This program is to ensure the act and accountability of medical professionals to respect and carry-out basic human health rights. In the United States, the government feels that it is essential for the American people to understand their civil duty and rights to all of their medical information. That includes: health insurance policies or medical records from every doctor or emergency visit in one’s life. Through Health & Human services one is able to file a complaint that their HIPAA rights have been violated or a consultant that will be able to decide if their rights were violated.

https://www.hhs.gov/programs/hipaa/index.html

Health Insurance

The department of Health & Human Services is the predominant government branch that handles health insurance.

Social Services

This branch has everything to do with the social justice, wellness, and care of all people throughout the United States. This includes but is not limited to people who need government assistance, foster care, unaccompanied alien children, daycares (headstart included), adoption, senior citizens, and disability programs. Social services is one of it not the largest branch of programs underneath it that has a wide variety throughout the United States at a state and local level.

https://www.hhs.gov/programs/social-services/index.html

Prevention & Wellness

The prevention and wellness program’s main idea is to give the American people the ability to live the healthiest and best lifestyle physically that they can. They are the ones who deal with vaccines and immunizations, which fight from common diseases to deadly ones. The nutrition & fitness program that are the basics of healthy eating and regular exercise. Health screenings & family health history which are crucial in the knowledge of each individual’s health and body. A severely important one especially in today’s society is mental health & substance abuse in where they help people with mental illness and drug abuse. Lastly, they help with environmental health where people are researching and studying how our environments both physical and metaphorically have a short and long term effect on our health and wellness.

https://www.hhs.gov/programs/prevention-and-wellness/index.html

Emergency Preparedness and Response

There are hundred of national programs that prepare citizens for emergency responses and safety. An example would be a baseball game making the live audience aware of the procedure for evacuation before the game begins. The Health & Human Services Department works both nationally, statewide, and locally to ensure the safety of all people.

https://www.hhs.gov/programs/emergency-preparedness/index.html

Sources (Main Ideas)

https://www.hhs.gov/programs/index.html

https://www.hhs.gov/about/index.html