IHS Employee Layoffs Halted After Urgent Advocacy Efforts
On February 14,2025, the National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) issued an urgent action alert calling on advocates to contact Congress and demand and immediate stop to the layoffs of probationary Indian Health Service (IHS) employees. That same day, NCUIH joined several national Native organizations in a letter to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), urging federal leadership to protect IHS employees serving Indian Country. With IHS facing a 30% vacancy rate, further reductions in staffing would severely impact healthcare access for American Indians and Alaska Native people.
Following these advocacy efforts, a February 17 report confirmed that HHS Secretary Kennedy rescinded the layoffs of 950 IHS employees. NCUIH will continue to monitor these developments and we remain committed to ensuring the federal government upholds its trust responsibility.
