HHS issues buyouts

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a $25,000 buyout offer to its 80,000 employees. The offer includes employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly said he had a list of employees “in his head” of potential firings. “If you’ve been involved in good science, you have got nothing to worry about,” Kennedy said in an interview. “If you care about public health, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If you’re in there working for the pharmaceutical industry, then I’d say you should move out and work for the pharmaceutical industry.”

As HHS navigates potential staffing reductions, the effects of the buyout—alongside broader federal workforce cuts—remain to be seen. With a $1.7 trillion annual budget allocated to serve 68.2 million CMS beneficiaries, the buyouts could have widespread implications for healthcare services.

Mass General Brigham continues employee layoffs

Mass General Brigham (MGB) initiates a second round of employee layoffs. According to a report by the Boston Business Journal, the terminations are in anticipation of a projected $250 million budget gap in the next two years.

Mass General Brigham is the largest private employer in Massachusetts, and though no figure has been given to estimate the total number, 1,500 positions have already been eliminated

Since the start of 2025, over 20 hospitals have engaged in layoffs, though MGB’s has been one of the larger group of terminations. The system has struggled from a financial perspective, and as of Q4 2024, its margin is -2.2%.