By Amanda Seitz
Washington (AP) – Most of the 80,000 federal workers responsible for the research of diseases, food inspection and the administration of Medicare and Medicaid under the auspices of the Department of Health and Social Services were sent by email to an offer to leave their employment for a payment of $ 25,000 as part of President Donald’s government cuts.
Workers have until 5 p.m. Friday to submit an answer to the so-called voluntary separation offer. The email was sent to the personnel of the department, which includes the centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and the National Institutes of Health as well as the Food and Drug Administration, both in Maryland.
Mass email went to a “large population of HHS employees”, landing in their reception boxes a few days before agency chiefs should offer plans to reduce their workforce. HHS is one of the most expensive federal agencies in the government, with an annual budget of around 1.7 Billion of dollars which is mainly spent for health care coverage for millions of people registered in Medicare and Medicaid.
There was no immediate comment Sunday from HHS.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s health secretary, alluded to staff in depths. Last year, he promised to immediately clean the 600 NIH employees, the country’s biomedical research branch. He did not go so far, but in an interview last month shortly after being sworn last month, Kennedy said he wanted to withdraw certain workers from public health agencies.
“I have a list in my head,” said Kennedy about potential layoffs on the agency. He said that some workers “made very bad decisions” on nutritional directives.
The Trump administration, with the help of billionaire Elon Musk, tried to bring out federal workers in order to reduce costs. In January, most federal employees received a delayed resignation offer provided with eight months’ salary. Thousands of probation employees have also been dismissed in federal agencies, including at HHS.
The latest decision to reduce the number of federal health workers comes while the CDC helps a deadly epidemic of measles in western Texas and New Mexico and as legislators debate deep cups in Medicaid in the federal budget.
HHS workers are directed in the email to contact their local human resources office to submit to voluntary separation.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
