BREAKING NEWS: Indian Health Service employees protected from Trump administration threat of mass firings.
An email sent today informed workers that they are exempt from the "Deferred Resignation Program," implying their jobs are safe for now.
I believe we are breaking some news with a scoop here on Inside Medicine. It appears to be good news, but it’s early.
Here’s what we know…
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A large number of Indian Health Service employees are now exempt from the Trump Administration’s “Deferred Resignation Program.”
An email obtained by Inside Medicine from a current employee of the Indian Health Service indicates that, for now, certain employees are “not eligible” for the Trump Administration’s “Deferred Resignation Program.” In an effort to downsize the government, the program sought to encourage two million US federal employees to quit their jobs and be paid for eight months.
“For public health and safety reasons, and in consideration of the medical and health care needs of the American Indian and Alaska Native beneficiaries served by the Indian Health Service (IHS), the Office of Personnel Management has granted the IHS a partial exclusion from the Deferred Resignation Program, effective immediately.”
The email was sent to employees by the Department of Health and Human Services and described a change in policy by the Office of Personnel Management. The email says that the change applies to employees in certain occupations. It is unclear what percentage of IHS employees the news applies to, but the list includes workers from security guards, to nurses, to pharmacists, to medical officers, and many others. Here’s the list:
The employee who received the email interpreted this as good news. “I think it means that somebody lobbied for us and was able to secure our jobs—or at least prevent people from taking the resignation,” the official told Inside Medicine.
The implication is that IHS employees won’t be at risk of being terminated if they don’t take the resignation program offer, which expires on February 6. “We are chronically understaffed,” the source told me. “We are mission critical.”
At this time, I am not aware of similar letters sent to employees at any other federal agencies.
The IHS serves 2.2 million American Indian and Alaska Native persons across 37 US states. The American Indian and Alaska Native population is a highly vulnerable one, with limited access to health care, which is a major reason why this population experienced massive outcome disparities during the Covid-19 pandemic, my team and I found. Any degradation of the IHS system could be very harmful.
How this exemption came about is unknown. But someone heard the voice of reason. While we’ll need more details, this news appears, for now, to be a small but positive development.
That’s what we know for now. Thanks for reading, sharing, speaking out, and supporting Inside Medicine! Please ask your questions in the comments and if you can’t upgrade due to financial considerations, just email me.
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When the best news of the day is that some IHS employees are now exempt from a damaging Trump-era policy—rather than the policy being fully repealed—it speaks to how much harm lingers and how low the bar has been set.