United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services

The Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (formerly the under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1953–1979, and the under Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1979–1990) is the Chief Operating Officer of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The deputy secretary oversees all operations within the Department, including overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, public health, medical research, food and drug safety, welfare, child and family services, disease prevention, Indian health, and mental health services. The office of Deputy Secretary is currently vacant. The most recent Deputy Secretary was Andrea Palm, who was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 11, 2021.

United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
Seal of the Department
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Style	Madam Deputy Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Reports to	United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
Seat	Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Precursor	Under Secretary of Health and Human Services
Formation	August 1990
First holder	Constance Horner
Salary	Executive Schedule, level II
Website	www.hhs.gov

The deputy secretary is also the regulatory policy officer for the department, overseeing the development and approval of all HHS regulations and significant guidance. In addition, the deputy secretary leads a number of initiatives at the department, including implementing the President's management agenda, combating bio-terrorism, and public health emergency preparedness. She also represents the secretary of health and human services on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.^[1]

The deputy secretary is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.^[2] The deputy secretary is paid at level II of the Executive Schedule.^[3] The deputy secretary is assisted by a principal associate deputy secretary of health and human services, two associate deputy secretaries, and three staff assistants.^[4] The position of deputy secretary was originally held by an under secretary until the position was retitled in August 1990. The position of under secretary had been in existence since the creation of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953.^[2]

List

Assistant secretary of health, education, and welfare

Image	Name	Took office	Left office	President served under	References
	Jane Morrow Spaulding	April 1953	January 1954	Dwight D. Eisenhower	[5][6]

Under secretaries of health, education, and welfare

Image	Name	Took office	Left office	President served under	References
	Nelson Rockefeller	June 1953	December 1954	Dwight D. Eisenhower	[7]
	Vacant	December 1954	September 1955		[8]
	Herold Christian Hunt	September 1955	February 1957		[9]
	Vacant	February 1957	April 1957		[10]
	John Alanson Perkins	April 1957	March 1958		[11][12]
	Vacant	March 7, 1958	March 18, 1958		[13]
	Bertha Adkins	March 1958	January 1961		[14][15]
	Ivan Arnold Nestingen	January 1961	May 1965	John F. Kennedy	[16][17][18]
				Lyndon B. Johnson
	Wilbur J. Cohen	June 1965	May 1968		[19]
	Vacant	May 1968	July 1968		[20]
	James H. McCrocklin	July 1968	January 1969		[21][22][23]
	Vacant	January 1969	March 1969	Richard Nixon	[24]
	John Veneman	March 1969	January 1973		[25][26][27]
	Frank Carlucci	January 1973	January 1975
				Gerald Ford	[28]
	Marjorie Lynch	November 1975	January 1977
				Gerald Ford	[28]
	Hale Champion	January 1977	June 1979
				Jimmy Carter	[29][30]

Under secretaries of health and human services

Image	Name	Took office	Left office	President served under	References
	John A. Svahn	March 1983	September 1983	Ronald Reagan	[31]
	Charles D. Baker	1984	1985
	Don M. Newman	1985	1989
	Constance Horner	1989	August 1990	George H. W. Bush

Deputy secretaries of health and human services

Image	Name	Took office	Left office	President served under	References
	Constance Horner	August 1990	1991	George H. W. Bush
	Kevin Moley	1991	1993
	Walter Broadnax	1993	1996	Bill Clinton
	Kevin Thurm	1996	2001		[32]
	Claude Allen	May 26, 2001	January 22, 2005	George W. Bush	[33]
	Alex Azar	January 22, 2005	February 4, 2007		[34]
	Eric Hargan (acting)	February 4, 2007	August 5, 2007		[35]
	Tevi Troy	August 5, 2007	January 20, 2009		[1]
	Bill Corr	May 6, 2009	April 2015	Barack Obama	[36]
	Mary Wakefield (acting)	April 2015	January 20, 2017		[36]
	Colleen Barros (acting)	January 20, 2017	October 6, 2017	Donald Trump
	Eric Hargan	October 6, 2017	January 20, 2021
	Andrea Palm	May 12, 2021	January 20, 2025	Joe Biden