HHS Fiscal Year 2025 Freedom of Information Annual Report

I. Basic Information Regarding Report

1. Name, title, address, and telephone number of person(s) to be contacted with questions about the Report:

Arianne Perkins
Director, Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts Division Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
United States Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 729H
Washington, D.C. 20201
(202) 690-7453

2. ELECTRONIC ADDRESS FOR THIS REPORT ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB:

https://www.hhs.gov/foia/reports/annual-reports/index.html

3. ADDRESS FOR PAPER COPIES OF THIS REPORT

Contact Arianne Perkins at the address or telephone number listed above, or at: https://www.hhs.gov/foia/contacts/index.html

II. Making a FOIA Request

1. HHS and Operating Division Freedom of Information Officers/FOIA Requester Service Centers:

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):
Website: https://www.hhs.gov/foia/index.html
Freedom of Information Act Officer
Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 729H
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: (202) 690-7453

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H):
Website: https://arpa-h.gov/freedom-of-information-act
Freedom of Information Act Office
One Franklin Square
1301 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-690-7453

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):
Website: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/regulations-guidance/legislation/freedom-information-act-foia-service-center
Freedom of Information Act Officer
North Building, Room C5-11-06
7500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, Maryland 21244
Phone: 410-786-5353

Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
Website: https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/freedom-information
Freedom of Information Act Officer
Division of Freedom of Information
Office the Executive Secretariat, OC
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1035
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 301-796-3900

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA):
Website: https://www.hrsa.gov/foia/
Freedom of Information Act Officer
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 13-W18
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 301-443-2865

Indian Health Service (IHS):
Website: https://www.ihs.gov/FOIA
Freedom of Information Act Officer
Division of Regulatory and Policy Coordination
Office of Management Services
5600 Fishers Lane, Mailstop 09E70
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 240-460-3711

National Institutes of Health (NIH):
Website: https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/freedom-information-act-office
Freedom of Information Act Officer
Building 1, Room 344
1 Center Drive, MSC 0188
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0188
Phone: 301-496-5633

Office of the Inspector General (OIG):
Website: https://oig.hhs.gov/foia/
Freedom of Information Act Officer
Wilbur J. Cohen Building, Room 5527
330 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 202-619-2541

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA):
Website: https://www.samhsa.gov/about/laws-regulations-policies/freedom-information-act
Freedom of Information Act Officer
5600 Fishers Lane, 18th Floor
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: 240-276-2327

2. Brief description of why some requests are not granted: Documents requested were protected by an exemption and release would have caused harm to the interest protected by the exemption. Information withheld may include home addresses and phone numbers, social security numbers, medical records, proprietary business records, investigatory records, that if released may interfere with open investigations, and drafts of documents.

3. HHS FOIA Regulations:

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-A/part-5

Section III: Acronyms, Definitions, and Exemptions

1. Following are definitions of terms used in this report:

a. Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level.

b. Average Number – the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.

c. Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a response.

d. Component – for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a "component" is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each principal component of the agency.

e. Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first forwards a record to another agency or component within the same agency for its review because that other agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the agency or component within the same agency that forwarded it. That agency, in turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester.

f. Exemption 3 Statute – a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA.

g. FOIA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to records concerning another person (i.e., a "third- party" request), or concerning an organization, or a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., "first-party" requests) when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non- U.S. citizens. Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act "systems of records" or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report.

Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, however, include records for which the agency has received a consultation from another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in Section XII of this Report.)

h. Full Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.

i. Full Denial – an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could be located.

j. Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.

k. Multi-Track Processing – a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis.

Expedited Processing – an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency regulations.
Simple Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non- expedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.
Complex Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records requested.

l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason.

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.

n. Perfected Request – a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.

o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects.

p. Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or administrative appeals.

q. Time Limits – the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request).

2. Following are concise descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions:

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information

b. Exemption 2: information that is related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law

d. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information

e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges

f. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual

h. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions

i. Exemption 9: geological information on wells

3. Agency Component Abbreviations

Component Abbreviation	Component Name
OS	Office of the Secretary
OIG	Office of the Inspector General
CMS	Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
FDA	Food and Drug Administration
HRSA	Health Resources and Services Administration
IHS	Indian Health Service
NIH	National Institutes of Health
SAMHSA	Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
ARPA-H	Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes

Statute	Type of Information Withheld	Case Citation	Agency / Component	Number of Times Relied upon by Agency / Component	Total Number of Times Relied upon by Agency Overall
41 U.S.C. §2102 (amending 41 U.S.C. §423(a)(1))	Contractor bid or proposal information; source selection information.	Legal & Safety Emp. Rsch., Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of the Army, No. Civ. S001748, 2001 WL 34098652, at *3-4 (E.D. Cal. May 4, 2001) (dictum).	CMS	1	1
41 U.S.C. §4702 (formerly at 41 U.S.C. §253b(m)(1))	Contractor proposals that are in the possession or control of an executive agency and that have been set forth or incorporated by reference into contracts.	Lenahan v. HHS, No. 23-06041, 2025 WL 1159878, at 3 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 21, 2025); Sinkfield v. HUD, No. 10-885, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35233, at 13-15 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 15, 2012); Margolin v. NASA, No. 09-00421, 2011 WL 1303221, at *6 (D. Nev. Mar. 31, 2011); Hornbostel v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 305 F. Supp. 2d 21, 30 (D.D.C. 2003), summary affirmance granted, No. 03-5257, 2004 WL 1900562 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 25, 2004).	CMS	25	52
			IHS	19
			FDA	8
42 U.S.C. §1395(b)(b)	Certain information related to Accreditation Surveys	N/A	CMS	2	2
5 U.S.C. § 407 (formerly at 5 U.S.C. app. 3 § 7(b))	Names of employees who provide information or complaints to the Inspector General.	Wash. Post Co. v. Special Inspector Gen. for Afg. Reconstr., 486 F. Supp. 3d 141, 166 (D.D.C. 2020)	OIG	98	98
41 U.S.C. § 4702 (formerly at 41 U.S.C. § 253b(m)(1))	Contractor proposals that are in the possession or control of an executive agency and that have not been set forth or incorporated by reference into contracts	Lenahan v. HHS, No. 23- 06041, 2025 WL 1159878, at 3 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 21, 2025); Sinkfield v. HUD, No. 10-885, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35233, at 13-15 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 15, 2012); Margolin v. NASA, No. 09- 00421, 2011 WL 1303221, at *6 (D. Nev. Mar. 31, 2011); Hornbostel v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 305 F. Supp. 2d 21, 30 (D.D.C. 2003), summary affirmance granted, No. 03- 5257, 2004 WL 1900562 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 25, 2004).	FDA	8	22
			HRSA	3
			IHS	9
			NIH	2
5 U.S.C. § 13109(a)(2) (formerly at 5 U.S.C. app. 4 § 107(a)(2))	Confidential financial disclosure report pertaining to certain government employees	Meyerhoff v. EPA, 958 F.2d 1498, 1500-02 (9th Cir. 1992); Boyd v. Exec. Off. for U.S. Att’ys, 161 F. Supp. 3d 1, 7 (D.D.C. 2015); Seife v. NIH, 874 F. Supp. 2d 248, 254 (S.D.N.Y. 2012).	FDA	1	2
			NIH	1	2
42 U.S.C. § 282(j)(6)	Information submitted for publication on clinicaltrials.gov that is not otherwise publicly available.	N/A	FDA	30	30
21 U.S.C. § 331(j)	Certain information “concerning any method or process which as a trade secret is entitled to protection”	Anderson v. HHS, 907 F.2d 936, 950-51 (10th Cir. 1990).	FDA	20	20
21 U.S.C. § 350d(a)(4)	Food Registration Documents	N/A	FDA	3	3
26 U.S.C. §§ 6103, 6105	Certain tax return information, to include Taxpayer Identification Numbers of third parties, and certain tax convention information	Church of Scientology v. IRS, 484 U.S. 9, 15 (1987) (26 U.S.C. § 6103); Elec. Priv. Info. Ctr. v. IRS, 910 F.3d 1232, 1237 (D.C. Cir. 2018); Leonard v. U.S. Dep’t of Treasury, 590 F. App’x. 141, 143-44 (3d Cir. 2014) (per curiam); Pac. Fisheries, Inc. v. IRS, 395 F. App’x. 438, 440 (9th Cir. 2010) (unpublished disposition) (26 U.S.C. §§ 6103, 6105); Nosal v. IRS, 523 F. Supp. 3d 72, 79 (D.D.C. 2021).	HRSA	5	5
42 U.S.C. § 1396r-8(b)(3)(D)	Information disclosed by manufacturers or wholesalers which discloses the identity of a specific manufacturer or wholesaler, or prices charged for drugs by such manufacturer or wholesaler	N/A	HRSA	2	2
25 U.S.C. § 1675(g)	Medical quality assurance records	N/A	IHS	9	9
5 U.S.C. § 407 (formerly at 5 U.S.C. app. 3 § 7(b))	Names of employees who provide information or complaints to the Inspector General	Wash. Post Co. v. Special Inspector Gen. for Afg. Reconstr., 486 F. Supp. 3d 141, 166 (D.D.C. 2020).	IHS	1	1
42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2	Confidentiality of patient records maintained in connection with substance abuse education, prevention, training, treatment, rehabilitation, or research	N/A	IHS	1	1
15 U.S.C. § 3710a(c)	“[T]rade secrets or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential, under the meaning of section 552(b)(4) of Title 5, which is obtained in the conduct of research or as a result of activities under this chapter,” which pertains to cooperative research and development agreements for the purpose of technological and industrial innovation	Pub. Citizen Health Rsch. Grp. v. NIH, 209 F. Supp. 2d 37, 43, 51 (D.D.C. 2002); DeLorme Pub. Co., Inc. v. NOAA, 917 F. Supp. 867, 871-72 (D. Me. 1996).	NIH	1	1
42 U.S.C. § 262(a)(h)(1)	Certain categories of information relating to biological agents and toxins	Civ. Beat L. Ctr. for the Pub. Int. v. CDC, 929 F.3d 1079, 1084-85 (9th Cir. 2019).	NIH	5	5
7 U.S.C. § 8401(h)(1)(c)	Registration and transfer documentation for listed biological agents and toxins, and information derived therefrom	N/A	NIH	2	2
18 U.S.C. § 208(d)(1)	Providing that “a copy of any determination granting an exemption under subsection (b)(1) or (b)(3) [from application of penalties for acts affecting personal financial interests determined to constitute bribery, graft, or conflicts of interest] shall be made available to the public,” but exempting from this disclosure requirement “any information contained in the determination that would be exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5”	Seife v. NIH, 874 F. Supp. 2d 248, 256 (S.D.N.Y. 2012).	NIH	1	1
35 U.S.C. § 209(f)	Plans for development or marketing of a federally owned invention	N/A	NIH	2	2

V.A. FOIA Requests -- Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests

Agency / Component	Number of Requests Pending as of Start of Fiscal Year	Number of Requests Received in Fiscal Year	Number of Requests Processed in Fiscal Year	Number of Requests Pending as of End of Fiscal Year
ARPA-H	11	41	18	34
CMS	4096	33003	31508	5591
FDA	4242	12073	10096	6219
HRSA	304	608	582	330
IHS	108	320	333	95
NIH	1010	2131	1860	1281
OIG	320	662	603	379
OS	5510	5910	2211	9209
SAMHSA	163	258	278	143
Agency Overall	15764	55006	47489	23281

*After reviewing their databases, CMS, NIH, and OS adjusted the number of requests pending as of the start of the Fiscal Year. **Components ACF, ACL and CDC were consolidated into OS in Fiscal Year 2025.

V.B.(1). Disposition of FOIA Requests -- All Processed Requests

Agency / Component	Number of Full Grants	Number of Partial Grants / Partial Denials	Number of Full Denials Based on Exemptions	Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions									Total
Agency / Component	Number of Full Grants	Number of Partial Grants / Partial Denials	Number of Full Denials Based on Exemptions	No Records	All Records Referred to Another Component or Agency	Request Withdrawn	Fee-Related Reason	Records not Reasonably Described	Improper FOIA Request for Other Reason	Not Agency Record	Duplicate Request	Other *Explain in Chart Below	Total
ARPA-H	2	0	0	15	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	18
CMS	5210	3020	7949	3293	49	1606	2149	503	4009	854	2817	49	31508
FDA	6903	33	158	705	32	1238	215	30	627	4	119	32	10096
HRSA	36	73	14	49	10	35	47	75	12	44	37	150	582
IHS	62	156	3	55	2	35	0	0	2	14	0	4	333
NIH	549	538	17	163	0	195	55	78	116	32	100	17	1860
OIG	19	110	94	159	5	97	2	18	12	75	12	0	603
OS	191	426	19	276	421	150	8	63	34	203	146	274	2211
SAMHSA	29	86	0	110	2	3	0	8	5	5	10	20	278
Agency Overall	13001	4442	8254	4825	521	3360	2476	775	4817	1231	3241	546	47489

V.B.(2). Disposition of FOIA Requests -- "Other" Reasons for "Full Denials Based on Reasons Other Than Exemptions"

Agency / Component	Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials from Chart B(1)	Number of Times "Other" Reason Was Relied Upon	Total
ARPA-H	N/A	0	0
CMS	Unable to Locate or Contact Requester	49	49
FDA	Aggregate cases	8	32
FDA	Directed Requester to Publicly Available Information	24	32
HRSA	Aggregate cases	93	150
	Directed Requester to Publicly Available Information	1
	Directed Requester to Another Entity Subject to the FOIA	56
IHS	Directed Requester to Publicly Available Information	4	4
NIH	Directed Requester to Another Entity Subject to the FOIA	17	17
OIG	N/A	0	0
OS	Aggregate cases	18	274
OS	Unable to Locate or Contact Requester	256	274
SAMHSA	Aggregate cases	5	20
SAMHSA	Unable to Locate or Contact Requester	15	20
Agency Overall			546

V.B.(3). Disposition of FOIA Requests -- Number of Times Exemptions Applied

Agency / Component	Ex. 2	Ex. 3	Ex. 4	Ex. 5	Ex. 6	Ex. 7(A)	Ex. 7(B)	Ex. 7(C)	Ex. 7(D)	Ex. 7(E)	Ex. 7(F)
ARPA-H	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
CMS	0	28	652	78	9467	3	249	767	10	12	0
FDA	2	52	147	20	27	44	0	5	1	3	0
HRSA	0	10	36	21	69	1	0	9	1	2	0
IHS	1	28	35	15	69	0	0	2	0	1	0
NIH	0	11	415	82	520	2	0	6	0	6	1
OIG	0	98	3	10	198	90	0	178	10	70	97
OS	5	0	164	197	441	5	0	17	0	7	2
SAMHSA	0	0	79	1	66	0	0	0	0	0	0
Agency Overall	8	227	1531	424	10857	145	249	984	22	101	100

VI.A. Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of FOIA Requests -- Received, Processed, and Pending Administrative Appeals

Agency / Component	Number of Appeals Pending as of Start of Fiscal Year	Number of Appeals Received in Fiscal Year	Number of Appeals Processed in Fiscal Year	Number of Appeals Pending as of End of Fiscal Year
CMS	109	54	70	93
FDA	75	92	55	112
OS	563	131	84	610
Agency Overall	747	277	209	815

After reviewing its database, OS adjusted the number of appeals pending as of the start of the Fiscal Year.

VI.B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals -- All Processed Appeals

Agency / Component	Number Affirmed on Appeal	Number Partially Affirmed & Partially Reversed/Remanded on Appeal	Number Completely Reversed/Remanded on Appeal	Number of Appeals Closed for Other Reasons	Total
CMS	3	3	1	63	70
FDA	19	9	9	18	55
OS	18	8	8	50	84
Agency Overall	40	20	18	131	209

VI.C.(1). Reasons for Denial on Appeal -- Number of Times Exemptions Applied

Agency / Component	Ex. 2	Ex. 3	Ex. 4	Ex. 5	Ex. 6	Ex. 7(A)	Ex. 7(C)	Ex. 7(E)
CMS	1	2	10	9	11	1	1	0
FDA	1	2	10	9	11	1	1	0
OS	5	19	121	163	318	1	5	1
Agency Overall	7	23	141	181	340	3	7	1

VI.C.(2). Reasons for Denial on Appeal -- Reasons Other Than Exemptions

Agency / Component	No Records	Request Withdrawn	Fee-Related Reason	Improper Request for Other Reasons	Duplicate Request or Appeal	Request in Litigation	Appeal Based Solely on Denial of Request for Expedited Processing	Other *Explain in chart below
CMS	3	42	0	4	2	0	0	19
FDA	1	6	1	0	0	1	17	12
OS	0	16	0	0	34	0	0	27
Agency Overall	4	64	1	4	36	1	17	58

VI.C.(3). Reasons for Denial on Appeal -- "Other" Reasons

Agency / Component	Description of "Other" Reasons for Denial on Appeal from Chart C(2)	Number of Times "Other" Reason Was Relied Upon	Total
CMS	Unable to Locate or Contact the Requester	19	19
FDA	Moot	9	12
	No Component Response to Adjudicate	2
	Untimely	1
OS	No Component Response to Adjudicate	9	27
	Moot	15
	Untimely	3
Agency Overall			58

VI.C.(4). Response Time for Administrative Appeals

Agency / Component	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days
CMS	809	998	3	2603
FDA	97	194	1	597
OS	831.5	274.6	1	2513
Agency Overall	274.6	488.87	1	2603

VI.C.(5). Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals

Agency / Component		10th Oldest Appeal	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	Oldest Appeal
CMS	Date of Appeal	2018-12-13	2018-10-04	2018-02-08	2018-01-02	2017-11-09	2017-10-31	2017-03-27	2017-02-03	2015-06-23	2014-11-05
CMS	Number of Days Pending	1702	1751	1917	1942	1976	1983	2113	2170	2575	2732
FDA	Date of Appeal	2024-10-22	2023-10-11	2023-08-22	2023-07-26	2023-07-20	2023-06-28	2023-06-14	2023-05-17	2023-01-03	2023-12-23
FDA	Number of Days Pending	236	494	528	547	551	566	575	594	688	694
OS	Date of Appeal	2019-12-07	2019-09-18	2019-04-29	2019-01-07	2018-12-20	2018-03-13	2017-11-29	2015-12-10	2015-06-23	2014-11-05
OS	Number of Days Pending	1456	1511	1610	1688	1698	1894	1964	2458	2575	2732
Agency Overall	Date of Appeal	2018-02-08	2018-01-02	2017-11-29	2017-11-09	2017-10-31	2017-03-27	2017-02-03	2017-12-10	2015-06-23	2014-11-05
Agency Overall	Number of Days Pending	1917	1942	1964	1976	1983	2135	2170	2458	2575	2732

VII.A. FOIA Requests -- Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests

Agency / Component	Simple				Complex				Expedited Processing
Agency / Component	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days
ARPA-H	156	174	3	342	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
CMS	10	12	<1	1626	27	55	<1	1951	123	525	2	1892
FDA	11	31.95	<1	1463	212	441	9	2750	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
HRSA	3	11	<1	340	21	132	<1	683	83	83	83	83
IHS	5	7.044	1	48	35.5	144.69	1	2142	8	14.363	2	39
NIH	16	159.66	<1	1497	26	123.56	<1	1759	61	735.33	<1	1145
OIG	9.5	23.91	<1	163	281	264.91	<1	785	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
OS	3.5	150.3	<1	2260	443.7	468.7	<1	1638	165.7	220.95	<1	1638
SAMHSA	1	2	<1	10	83	159	<1	1294	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Agency Overall	3	49.72	<1	2260	35.5	198.91	<1	2750	83	315.73	<1	1892

VII.B. Processed Requests -- Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was Granted

Agency / Component	Simple				Complex				Expedited Processing
Agency / Component	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days
ARPA-H	184	184	<1	<1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
CMS	14	14	<1	227	33	73	9	1951	64	215	9	1586
FDA	12	35	<1	1463	44	176	9	2605	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
HRSA	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	377	324	1	683	83	83	83	83
IHS	7	8.523	1	48	48	167.142	2	2142	2	9.166	2	39
NIH	26	234.09	<1	1497	35	137.71	<1	1759	61	735.33	<1	1145
OIG	29	46.38	<1	150	237	228.02	3	482	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
OS	224	367.77	<1	2153	114	529.09	<1	1638	1433	502.61	6	1638
SAMHSA	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	117	198	2	1255	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Agency Overall	7	378.8	<1	2153	48	214.37	<1	2605	7	162.78	<1	1638

VII.C. Processed Simple Requests -- Response Time in Day Increments

Agency / Component	<1-20 Days	21-40 Days	41-60 Days	61-80 Days	81-100 Days	101-120 Days	121-140 Days	141-160 Days	161-180 Days	181-200 Days	201-300 Days	301-400 Days	401+ Days	Total
ARPA-H	15	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18
CMS	4680	32	3	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	3	1	4	4728
FDA	2211	448	60	37	31	38	24	30	26	21	60	52	34	3072
HRSA	49	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	51
IHS	101	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	104
NIH	279	31	21	16	8	8	7	1	1	1	4	1	74	452
OIG	222	56	18	13	9	10	6	5	1	0	0	0	0	340
OS	458	156	58	38	63	48	22	7	2	13	25	9	31	930
SAMHSA	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15
Agency Overall	8030	728	161	107	113	104	60	43	30	35	92	64	143	9710

VII.C. Processed Complex Requests -- Response Time in Day Increments

Agency / Component	<1-20 Days	21-40 Days	41-60 Days	61-80 Days	81-100 Days	101-120 Days	121-140 Days	141-160 Days	161-180 Days	181-200 Days	201-300 Days	301-400 Days	401+ Days	Total
ARPA-H	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
CMS	8391	9483	1011	483	383	316	240	197	180	187	551	305	496	22223
FDA	1343	877	421	263	216	151	155	96	88	85	252	146	564	4657
HRSA	215	54	15	11	8	3	5	3	6	1	21	29	72	443
IHS	66	51	25	6	8	1	1	1	1	10	20	6	22	218
NIH	544	145	76	48	34	43	31	51	25	26	53	24	102	1202
OIG	10	7	13	10	6	5	9	5	10	4	56	60	38	233
OS	499	114	99	58	25	9	30	21	8	16	28	30	200	1137
SAMHSA	82	16	14	11	14	5	12	7	7	3	30	19	30	250
Agency Overall	11150	10747	1674	890	694	533	483	381	325	332	1011	619	1524	30363

VII.C. Processed Requests Granted Expedited Processing -- Response Time in Day Increments

Agency / Component	<1-20 Days	21-40 Days	41-60 Days	61-80 Days	81-100 Days	101-120 Days	121-140 Days	141-160 Days	161-180 Days	181-200 Days	201-300 Days	301-400 Days	401+ Days	Total
ARPA-H	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
CMS	8	5	2	3	2	2	1	1	3	1	2	1	14	45
FDA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HRSA	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
IHS	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9
NIH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3
OIG	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
OS	17	5	1	1	5	4	5	3	0	0	0	1	5	47
SAMHSA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Agency Overall	32	13	3	4	8	6	6	4	3	1	2	2	21	105

VII.D. Pending Requests — All Pending Perfected Requests

Agency / Component	Simple			Complex			Expedited Processing
Agency / Component	Number Pending	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Number Pending	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Number Pending	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days
ARPA-H	0	N/A	N/A	21	N/A	N/A	0	N/A	N/A
CMS	1742	12	20	3822	55	170	27	513	779
FDA	335	277	392	3561	692	918	32	1448	1399
HRSA	3	8	73	327	212	227	0	N/A	N/A
IHS	0	N/A	N/A	95	190	366.376	0	N/A	N/A
NIH	202	737	756.84	1066	183	269.42	5	1338	1115.2
OIG	83	59	60.14	285	209	216.93	0	N/A	N/A
OS	4257	302	498.95	4888	938	539.75	64	1971	898.75
SAMHSA	1	24	24	142	209	232	0	N/A	N/A
Agency Overall	6623	59	260.7	14207	209	367.5	128	1393	1048

VII.E. Pending Requests — Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests

Agency / Component		10th Oldest Request	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	Oldest Request
ARPA-H	Date of Receipt	2024-09-26	2024-09-20	2024-08-19	2024-08-09	2024-07-26	2024-07-26	2024-05-22	2024-04-21	2024-02-22	2023-10-25
ARPA-H	Number of Days Pending	253	257	280	286	296	296	342	363	405	488
CMS	Date of Receipt	2023-07-18	2023-07-11	2023-06-27	2023-06-01	2023-05-27	2023-04-24	2023-04-03	2023-03-23	2023-03-01	2018-12-06
CMS	Number of Days Pending	552	557	566	581	586	610	625	631	648	1706
FDA	Date of Receipt	2016-01-26	2016-01-04	2015-11-09	2015-09-08	2015-09-02	2015-06-04	2015-04-16	2015-04-13	2015-02-13	2015-01-22
FDA	Number of Days Pending	2397	2411	2479	2488	2491	2554	2589	2592	2632	2648
HRSA	Date of Receipt	2023-07-18	2023-07-11	2023-06-27	2023-06-01	2023-05-27	2023-04-24	2023-04-03	2023-03-24	2023-03-01	2018-12-06
HRSA	Number of Days Pending	552	557	566	581	586	610	625	631	648	1706
IHS	Date of Receipt	2020-09-07	2020-06-02	2020-05-27	2020-03-30	2020-03-27	2020-01-28	2020-01-07	2019-12-26	2019-06-05	2019-04-19
IHS	Number of Days Pending	1266	1333	1338	1379	1295	1420	1436	1443	1582	1606
NIH	Date of Receipt	2020-03-16	2020-02-21	2020-02-20	2020-02-06	2020-02-05	2019-12-27	2019-10-04	2019-05-06	2019-02-21	2017-03-23
NIH	Number of Days Pending	1387	1403	1404	1413	1414	1440	1495	1601	1902	2131
OIG	Date of Receipt	2023-04-14	2023-04-05	2023-03-16	2023-03-07	2023-03-06	2023-02-15	2023-01-04	2022-12-21	2022-10-14	2022-10-04
OIG	Number of Days Pending	616	623	637	644	645	657	686	694	740	747
OS	Date of Receipt	2017-08-03	2017-02-08	2017-02-01	2017-01-31	2016-10-13	2016-07-20	2016-07-21	2016-07-13	2016-03-22	2015-12-10
OS	Number of Days Pending	2041	2163	2168	2169	2242	2299	2300	2306	2385	2454
SAMHSA	Date of Receipt	2023-07-23	2023-05-01	2022-12-01	2022-11-29	2022-09-08	2022-08-01	2022-10-06	2022-05-22	2022-05-22	2021-03-17
SAMHSA	Number of Days Pending	606	708	708	710	766	792	826	840	840	1137
Agency Overall	Date of Receipt	2016-01-04	2015-12-10	2015-11-09	2015-09-08	2015-09-02	2015-06-04	2015-04-16	2015-04-13	2015-02-13	2015-01-22
Agency Overall	Number of Days Pending	2411	2454	2475	2488	2491	2554	2589	2592	2632	2648

VIII.A. Requests for Expedited Processing

Agency / Component	Number Granted	Number Denied	Median Number of Days to Adjudicate	Average Number of Days to Adjudicate	Number Adjudicated Within Ten Calendar Days
ARPA-H	0	0	N/A	N/A	0
CMS	30	238	5	8	210
FDA	0	678	1	4	678
HRSA	0	78	2	13	60
IHS	11	73	3	3.963	79
NIH	2	102	12	24.65	31
OIG	0	41	0	6.22	36
OS	82	205	14	49.26	183
SAMHSA	0	0	N/A	N/A	0
Agency Overall	125	1415	3	16.4	1277

VIII.B. Requests for Fee Waiver

Agency / Component	Number Granted	Number Denied	Median Number of Days to Adjudicate	Average Number of Days to Adjudicate
ARPA-H	0	0	N/A	N/A
CMS	58	80	3	6
FDA	1972	44	16	24
HRSA	99	74	1	9
IHS	152	0	1	1
NIH	20	6	81.5	135.35
OIG	6	12	1	6.22
OS	134	96	14	145.1
SAMHSA	0	0	N/A	N/A
Agency Overall	2441	312	3.1	46.57

IX. FOIA Personnel and Costs

Agency / Component	Personnel			Costs
Agency / Component	Number of "Full-Time FOIA Employees"	Number of "Equivalent Full-Time FOIA Employees"	Total Number of "Full-Time FOIA Staff"	Processing Costs	Litigation-Related Costs	Total Costs
ARPA-H	2	0.00	2.00	487718.00	0.00	487718.00
CMS	32	13.00	45.00	10678651.07	276519.31	10955170.38
FDA	137	43.65	180.65	24235322.50	4173023.00	28408345.50
HRSA	5	0.10	5.10	1748808.00	161117.00	1909925.00
IHS	2	0.85	2.85	402927.00	1293.30	404220.30
NIH	49	3.00	52.00	7616011.15	82125.00	7698136.15
OIG	3	1.00	4.00	589322.00	147331.00	736653.00
OS	25	15.00	40.00	3792995.00	1604083.03	5397078.03
SAMHSA	1	0.00	1.00	232122.00	0.00	232122.00
Agency Overall	256	76.60	332.60	49783876.72	6445491.64	56229368.36

This figure includes a total of 3 HHS employees who enrolled in the Deferred Resignation Program during the Fiscal Year.

X. Fees Collected for Processing Requests

Agency / Component	Total Amount of Fees Collected	Percentage of Total Costs
ARPA-H	0.00	0.0000
CMS	157385.31	1.4700
FDA	462323.98	1.9100
HRSA	8471.20	0.4800
IHS	0.00	0.0000
NIH	8657.40	0.1100
OIG	0.00	0.0000
OS	19894.02	0.5200
SAMHSA	0.00	0.0000
Agency Overall	656731.91	1.3200

XI.A. Number of Times Subsection (C) Used

Agency / Component	Number of Times Subsection Used
ARPA-H	0
CMS	0
FDA	0
HRSA	0
IHS	0
NIH	0
OIG	0
OS	0
SAMHSA	0
Agency Overall	0

XI.B. Number of Subsection (A)(2) Postings

Agency / Component	Number of Records Posted by the FOIA Office	Number of Records Posted by Program Offices
ARPA-H	0	0
CMS	9	5034
FDA	726	2116
HRSA	9	2282
IHS	11	70
NIH	0	0
OIG	0	165
OS	0	496
SAMHSA	0	0
Agency Overall	755	10163

XII.A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals

Agency / Component	Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of Fiscal Year	Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of Fiscal Year
ARPA-H	34	N/A
CMS	3360	86
FDA	3928	112
HRSA	297	N/A
IHS	74	N/A
NIH	1123	N/A
OIG	309	N/A
OS	9101	619
SAMHSA	134	N/A
Agency Overall	18360	817

XII.B. Consultations on FOIA Requests — Received, Processed, and Pending Consultations

Agency / Component	Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that were Pending at the Agency as of Start of the Fiscal Year	Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies During the Fiscal Year	Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that were Processed by the Agency During the Fiscal Year	Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that were Pending at the Agency as of End of the Fiscal Year
ARPA-H	0	0	0	0
CMS	1	37	37	1
FDA	0	83	83	0
HRSA	0	10	10	0
IHS	0	8	8	0
NIH	67	53	84	36
OIG	10	56	65	1
OS	225	324	192	357
SAMHSA	0	0	0	0
Agency Overall	303	571	479	395

After reviewing its database, OS adjusted the number of consultations pending as of the start of the Fiscal Year.

XII.C. Consultations on FOIA Requests — Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending at the Agency

Agency / Component		10th Oldest Consultation	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	Oldest Consultation
CMS	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	2024-11-08
CMS	Number of Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	223
FDA	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FDA	Number of Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HRSA	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
HRSA	Number of Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
IHS	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
IHS	Number of Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
NIH	Date	2022-04-08	2022-04-06	2022-04-04	2022-04-04	2022-04-01	2022-02-22	2022-01-19	2022-01-11	2022-01-10	2021-10-22
NIH	Number of Days	870	872	874	874	875	903	926	931	932	985
OIG	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	2025-08-15
OIG	Number of Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31
OS	Date	2021-08-16	2021-05-27	2021-03-29	2020-12-10	2020-09-29	2020-06-02	2020-02-21	2020-01-23	2019-10-25	2019-06-14
OS	Number of Days	1141	1222	1281	1390	1462	1582	1683	1712	1803	1935
SAMHSA	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SAMHSA	Number of Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Agency Overall	Date	2021-08-16	2021-05-27	2021-03-29	2020-12-10	2020-09-29	2020-06-02	2020-02-21	2020-01-23	2019-10-25	2019-06-14
Agency Overall	Number of Days	1141	1222	1281	1390	1462	1582	1683	1712	1803	1935

XII.D.(1). Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report — Requests Received and Processed

Agency / Component	Number of Requests Received		Number of Requests Processed
Agency / Component	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
ARPA-H	0	41	0	18
CMS	30806	33003	30154	31508
FDA	11702	12073	12195	10096
HRSA	533	608	427	582
IHS	273	320	254	333
NIH	1758	2131	1688	1860
OIG	910	662	628	603
OS	2819	5910	1329	2211
SAMHSA	252	258	248	278
Agency Overall	49053	55006	46923	47489

XII.D.(2). Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report — Backlogged Requests

Agency / Component	Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous Annual Report	Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
ARPA-H	-2	34
CMS	2640	3360
FDA	3893	3928
HRSA	258	297
IHS	83	74
NIH	838	1123
OIG	277	309
OS	3020	9101
SAMHSA	142	134
Agency Overall	11149	18360

XII.E.(1). Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual Report — Appeals Received and Processed

Agency / Component	Number of Appeals Received		Number of Appeals Processed
Agency / Component	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
CMS	44	54	59	70
FDA	101	92	79	55
OS	290	143	219	89
Agency Overall	435	289	357	214

XII.E.(2). Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual Report — Backlogged Appeals

Agency / Component	Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous Annual Report	Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
CMS	109	86
FDA	74	112
OS	547	619
Agency Overall	730	817