HHS proposal puts millions of Americans at risk of discrimination when accessing federally funded services

  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is tasked with ensuring the health and well-being of all Americans, developing strategies to address public health crises, and conducting research and designing treatment interventions to end deadly chronic diseases. It accounts for more than one-fourth of all federal spending and is made up of 11 operating divisions. Under the Trump administration, however, the agency’s mission has been upended by the harmful political agendas of individuals such as Vice President Mike Pence and Office for Civil Rights Director Roger Severino. Under their leadership, it has reallocated significant resources away from civil rights and patient privacy in order to expand religious exemptions, promulgate rules that severely restrict access to reproductive health care, and undermine strong nondiscrimination protections under the Affordable Care Act.