Department of Health and Human Services

At a Glance

The Department of Health and Human Services runs the huge and fast-growing Medicare and Medicaid. These programs fuel rising health costs, distort markets, and are plagued by waste and fraud. The department also runs other costly subsidy programs, including Head Start, TANF, and LIHEAP. Growth in HHS spending is creating a federal fiscal crisis, and the 2010 health care law made the situation worse.

The department will spend $1.23 trillion in 2019, or $9,640 for every U.S. household. After adjusting for inflation, spending has more than doubled since 2000. The department employs 72,000 workers and runs more than 520 subsidy programs.

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Explore a historical timeline of U.S. health and welfare policy, tracing major legislation, program expansion, and institutional growth within federal health agencies.

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Dept. of Health and Human Services Static Graph — This chart was generated using our interactive charting tool, which visualizes data from the federal spending database released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

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Medicare Reforms

By Chris Edwards and Michael F. Cannon

Medicare should be transformed into a system based on vouchers, individual savings, and competitive insurance markets.

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Medicaid Reforms

By Chris Edwards

Federal spending on low-income health care should be converted to block grants for the states.

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TANF and Federal Welfare

By Michael D. Tanner and Tad DeHaven

Welfare reforms in 1996 created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, but such aid should be provided by private charities.

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Head Start and Other Subsidies

By Tad DeHaven

HHS funds a vast array of other subsidy programs, many of which are wasteful and ineffective.

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2010 Health Care Legislation

By Michael D. Tanner

The law expanded Medicaid, added new taxes and subsidies, created new bureaucracies, and did little to reduce cost growth in health care.

The federal government is running huge budget deficits, spending too much, and heading toward a financial crisis. Without a change of direction in Washington, average working families will be faced with large tax increases and a lower standard of living. This project is designed to help policymakers and the public understand where federal spending goes and how to reform each government department. It describes the failings of agencies and identifies specific programs to cut. It also discusses the systematic reasons why government programs are often obsolete, mismanaged, or otherwise dysfunctional.

Please contact Chris Edwards at cedwards@cato.org with questions or comments.

Information on the data sources for our charts.

Department of Health and Human Services

Timeline: Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Health and Human Services Spending

Featured Content

Medicare Reforms

Medicaid Reforms

TANF and Federal Welfare

Head Start and Other Subsidies

2010 Health Care Legislation

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