Position:
Secretary - Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services is the principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. The department includes more than 300 programs, particularly in the areas of: medical and social science research, preventing outbreak of infectious disease, including immunization services, assuring food and drug safety, Medicare and Medicaid, financial assistance and services for low-income families, improving maternal and infant health, Head Start, preventing child abuse and domestic violence, substance abuse treatment and prevention, services for older Americans, including home-delivered meals, comprehensive health services for Native Americans. HHS is the largest grant-making agency in the federal government, providing some 60,000 grants per year. Its Medicare program is the nation's largest health insurer, handling more than 900 million claims per year.
Type of Appointment/Position: Presidential with Senate confirmation
Nominations so far:
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Progressive Criteria:
The Health and Human Services Department will:
Fully acknowledge that health coverage is a human right;
Stand for high quality universal health care (including mental health care) for all residents of the US, effective, safe and affordable drugs and strong prevention programs;
Through the FDA, work to make sure that safe and effective drugs are also affordable;
Run a research program that is not shaped by religious doctrines and that is open to public scrutiny;
Support women's right to choose and work to make that right available to all;
Promote publicly-funded drug research based on public health need, not profit;
Promote drug research to benefit all demographic groups and all segments of American society;
Cooperate with international health promotion and assistance.
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