‘I Am Going Through Hell’: Job Loss, Mental Health, and the Fate of Federal Workers - KFF Health News

The firings that began in February are taking a significant toll on federal employees’ mental health.

Workers said they feel overwhelmed and demoralized, have considered seeking psychiatric care and medication.

Federal employees are bracing for more layoffs after agencies required to deliver plans by this month for large-scale staff reductions.

Federal workers who passed on higher-paying private sector jobs because they wanted to serve their country may feel especially gutted to hear Trump and Musk denigrate their work as wasteful.

Many federal workers are losing their health insurance, leaving them ill equipped to seek care just as they and their families are facing a tidal wave of potential health consequences.

Apart from loving her job, she said, she has one child in college and another in high school and needs stable income. “I don’t know what I’m going to do next.” We’d like to speak with current and former personnel from the Department of Health and Human Services or its component agencies who believe the public should understand the impact of what’s happening within the federal health bureaucracy. Please message KFF Health News on Signal at ( 415 ) 519 -8778 or get in touch here..