The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans. HHS represents almost a quarter of all federal outlays, and it administers more grant dollars than all other federal agencies combined. HHS’ Medicare program is the nation’s largest health insurer, handling more than 1 billion claims per year. Medicare and Medicaid together provide health care insurance for one in four Americans. The Department itself includes over 300 programs which provide a wide variety of services, from scientific research support to public health to food safety to mental health, etc.
