a US government department which is responsible for health programmes, and for providing money and support for people who are poor, people who have no jobs, and people who have stopped working because they are old
the position of the head of the Department of Health and Human Services; "the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services was created by Congress in 1979"
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Health and Human Services; "the first Secretary of Health and Human Services was Patricia Roberts Harris who was appointed by Carter