In the busy NYC federal buildings, the HHS office is quiet.

New York -Recently, when I visited the Federal Plaza in Manhattan, some floors of the mammoth office building were discouraged by those who found or faced federal services such as social security stations and immigration and customs execution. In the lobby, dozens of people took pictures to celebrate becoming American citizens. A man in the Homeland Security Department led the elevator by handcuffed.

However, the area that accommodates the local office of the Ministry of Health and Welfare was quiet.

In March, HHS announced that it would close the door. 5 out of 10 local offices As part of a wide range of restructuring to integrate the department’s work and reduce the number of employees to 20,000 to 62,000. New York City, New York, New York, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands in New York City, were one of those who got axes.

Public health experts and advocates say so HHS Regional OfficeAs in New York City, we form a combined organization between the federal government and many regional services. Regional welfare programs, such as headstarts, receive federal subsidies, investigate medicare claims, or promote registration of hospitals and health system providers in Medicare and Medicaid programs, providing major federal access points for people and organizations. It warned that integrating local offices could cause serious consequences in the state’s public health system.

Georges Benjamin, the executive director of American Public Health Association, said, “All public health is local.

Other offices that are scheduled to be closed are located in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle. Five five offer 22 states and a few US territory. The services of the closed regional offices are divided into the rest of the regional offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City and Philadelphia.

The removal of the local HHS office has already had a big impact on headstart, a long federal program that provides free childcare and support services to children of the poorest families in the United States. One of the quoted examples In a lawsuit In response to the federal government, which challenges the HHS restructuring brought by 18 states in New York, and the Columbia Special District, he pointed out that “there is a risk that many programs should be suspended or suspended.”

The HHS site includes a local headstart office that closed last month and fired employees. The Trump administration found To wipe the funds According to the budget draft document that summarizes the dramatic cuts of HHS, Congress is according to the budget draft document that Congress should approve. Recent news report It indicates that the administration can be retreated from this plan. But other childhood and early development programs can still be in the cutting board.

Bonnie Egenburg, chairman of the New Jersey Head Start Association, told her that her organization has been relyingy for a long time to be “our boots for the federal government” to the HHS regional office for a long time. Difficult times, such as Covid-19 Pandemic or Hurricanes Sandy and Maria, this regional office helped to design a program design service of the title to meet the needs of children and families. “They work with us to get all the support we can get,” she said.

In recent weeks, salaries and other operations have been delayed, and employees have been asked to justify why they need money as part of a new person.Defend your spendingInitiative established by ELON MUSK -led government efficiency created by President Donald Trump.

Eggenburg said, “There is no one to consult most of the programs, and I’m not sure if the notice is coming as expected.

The HHS local office worker who worked at the headstart helped the providers solve the technical problems, solve the budget problem, and helped to discuss local problems such as the increase in the city’s migrant children’s population, Susan Stamler said. United neighboring houses. Headquartered in New York City, the organization represents dozens of neighboring settlements, which represents community groups that provide services to local families, such as early support, including language classes, housing support and some head start programs.

“The actual problem today is that people have not been contacted by humans,” she said about the closure of the local office. “They have received a website.”

Stamler closes the local headstart hub without a clear transition plan, saying, “It shows a lack of respect for those who run these programs and services.

“It is surprising to think that the federal government is reviewing this investment deeply given to family and community.

Zach Henessey, the chief strategic director of Public Health Solutions, a non -profit organization in New York City, said HHS will reduce the information on local health initiatives without a local office.

“Actually, the important place is in the HHS itself,” he said. “They are now blind people. But their decisions ultimately affect us.”

Dara Kass, an emergency doctor who is a two -member director of HHS area of ​​Biden Administration, explained that it was an ambassador.

KASS said, “The office is to ensure that the community members and the constituency can access everything that can be used in HHS.

In HHS Region 2The department office for community life, the FDA’s inspection and investigation office, and the drug abuse and mental health service management bureau will already be closed or closed with other departments.

HHS argued that if you shut down the local office, you could not harm the service.

Under the reconstruction, many HHS institutions are removed or folded into other institutions, including the administration for the United States, which were recently built according to HHS Minister Robert F. Kennedy JR..

Kennedy said, “We are not just reducing bureaucratic springs, but re -adjusting the tissue with core mission and new priority in reversing chronic diseases.” In the press release Reconstruction announcement.

In early April, local office staff were fired. Skeleton crews now seem to close the office. Recently, only about 15 children and family workers who responded to the topic of visitors at the entrance remained. The next time I asked what was there, the staff had a shoulder.

The Trump administration’s downsizing efforts will also remove six of the 10 regional outposts of the HHS Legal Advisory Office, a squad of a lawyer who supports problems related to the beneficiaries and providers’ guarantee disputes and suppliers and participation in federal programs.

Unlike private health insurance companies, Medicare is a federal health program dominated by laws and regulations, and Andrew TSUI, a partner of Arnall Golden Gregory, said. Co -written About the closure of the local office.

TSUI said, “As long as you have ambiguity, appeal or dissatisfaction when you have the largest federal health insurance program on Earth, you will need expertise from federal lawyers trained in federal law.”

Overall, the loss of the local HHS office has been hit once more by the state and regional public health efforts.

New York State Health Director James McDonald said that state health officials faced “total specifications of federal transitions” and cuts to major federal partners such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CMS and FDA. Said.

“I’m not sure who we are looking at now and what information we can get to,” he said. “We haven’t seen the same partnership in the past.”

HealthBeat is a non -profit newsroom dealing with public health. Citizen News Company KFF Health News. Join the newsletter here.