1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

As a family doctor on the front lines of primary care, I am deeply concerned about the restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services, involving the layoff of 10,000 employees. This drastic move could severely undermine the federal government's ability to protect public health and hamper the crucial support primary care providers rely on. A reduction of 20% in staffing at critical agencies like the FDA and CDC poses a grave risk, hampering their capacity to fulfill essential functions like ensuring food and drug safety, monitoring and combating disease outbreaks, and advancing critical medical research vital to my practice. This reckless downsizing jeopardizes the health and well-being of the patients I serve and prioritizes cost-cutting over safeguarding public welfare. I urge an immediate reconsideration of this misguided restructuring that sacrifices invaluable expertise and compromises the nation's public health infrastructure, which primary care deeply depends upon. A strong and well-resourced HHS is crucial to promoting healthy communities, preventive care, and saving lives. Dismantling it through draconian workforce reductions is counterproductive and hazardous to my ability to provide quality care. I implore you to reverse course and reinvest in this vital department to uphold its indispensable mission supporting frontline healthcare providers.