Dive Brief:
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to fire all 16 members of the task force that advises insurers on what preventive services they have to cover under the Affordable Care Act, according to media reports. That’s a bad idea, according to a top medical association.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force “plays a critical, non-partisan role in guiding physicians’ efforts to prevent disease and improve the health of patients,” the American Medical Association wrote in a letter to Kennedy on Sunday. “As such, we urge you to retain the previously appointed members of the USPSTF.”
“No final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again,” HHS communications director Andrew Nixon said.
Dive Insight:
The USPSTF has advised Washington on preventive health since the 1980s. The task force’s power was expanded by the ACA in 2010 to include deciding what preventive care most insurers have to cover at no cost to patients.
Roughly 100 million people have access to preventive care under the USPSTF’s recommendations, including cancer screenings, tests for chronic conditions and pregnancy-related services, according to estimates.
However, the task force has come under fire from conservatives for alleged left-wing ideology, at a time when the Trump administration is laser-focused on stamping out federal initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
That’s spurred speculation that the current members of the USPSTF — carefully vetted volunteers with medical expertise that serve four-year terms — could meet the same fate as those on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the task force that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on immunization recommendations.
Kennedy’s decision to terminate the ACIP panelists in June was extremely controversial — as were his subsequent replacements, whom critics say lack experience and have a history of discounting settled science around vaccines.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kennedy plans to oust members of the USPSTF over concerns they may be too “woke,” citing sources familiar with the matter.
The WSJ’s report follows HHS officials postponing the USPSTF’s scheduled meeting in July, a decision that sparked worries about the panel’s fate among public health leaders and some Democrat lawmakers.
In June, the Supreme Court decided a yearslong case in which Christian employers sought to invalidate the USPSTF because they didn’t want to cover contraceptives and HIV-prevention drugs. The plaintiffs argued that the task force was unconstitutional because its members aren’t appointed by the president or confirmed by the Senate.
The nation’s highest court ruled that the appointment of the task force’s members is legal — but outlined that the HHS secretary could remove them at will, a distinction that Kennedy could take advantage of.
“The Task Force members remain subject to the Secretary of HHS’s supervision and direction,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the court’s majority opinion.
But ousting the USPSTF’s members is a bad idea, the AMA argued in its letter to Kennedy.
Panelists are “nationally recognized experts in primary care, prevention and evidence-based medicine” who are “selected through an open, public nomination process,” the AMA said.
The task force’s focus on reducing disease and improving Americans’ health aligns with Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement. And actions like pausing meetings and potentially firing its members could stop key health recommendations from being disseminated, the medical group warned.
As HHS head, Kennedy has overseen a drastic reshaping of the massive federal health agency, cutting some 10,000 jobs, reshaping agencies and curtailing grants, including for medical research. The goal is to cut back on governmental bloat and align the department with the MAHA agenda, according to Trump administration officials.
However, current and former employees say the actions have hampered HHS operations and will cause harm to U.S. medical innovation and the country’s citizens.
