Getting the Deal Through - Life Sciences 2014, United States Chapter

By John Patrick Oroho and Brian P. Sharkey

The health-care system in the United States has evolved over the past 60 years through incremental public policy initiatives. These public policy changes have mainly been on the federal level. The federal government is the largest single provider of healthcare services in the United States. In 2010, there were approximately 4.4 million federal government employees, including temporary employees. The Federal Labor Department estimates that the total number of federal employees in 2011 decreased by 1.3 per cent, or 57,000 people. Although 2012 saw little change in government employment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in June 2013 that federal government employment continued to trend down and declined by 65,000 people over the prior 12 months.