Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is considering removing all 16 members of a highly influential advisory committee that offers guidance about preventive health services, such as cancer screenings, HIV prevention medications or tests for osteoporosis, according to two people familiar with the plan.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force is a group of independent doctors, nurses and public health experts who volunteer to regularly review volumes of the latest scientific research about diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and mental health, as well as mammograms for breast cancer.
Health and Human Services' spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in an emailed statement Friday that “no final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again.”
Earlier this month, Kennedy caused alarm among task force members after he abruptly postponed a scheduled meeting that was set to focus on heart disease and prevention. At the time, task force members weren’t given a reason for the cancellation or whether the meeting would be rescheduled.
Kennedy’s plans were first reported Friday by The Wall Street Journal.
The task force plays an important role in protecting access to screenings and tests because the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, mandates that most private insurers provide the services that the group recommends to patients at no cost.
The task force makes its recommendations using a grading scale. Under federal law, services that get an A or B grade but must be covered by insurance plans at no cost for patients.
The advisory group has come under fire from conservative groups for some past decisions, including its “A” recommendation to cover the HIV prevention pill, known as PrEP.
That recommendation led to a lawsuit from several Christian employers that ended up before the Supreme Court, where the justices decided 6-3 to uphold the Affordable Care Act provision that requires insurers to cover task force-recommended preventive services for free. However, the court agreed with the Trump administration that Kennedy has final say over decisions made by members of the task force because HHS has oversight over the group. As health secretary, he also has the authority to remove and replace members.
Kennedy has made children’s chronic disease a keystone of his position as the country’s top health official. It’s unclear which areas of health care Kennedy might target by shaking up the panel.
In June, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — which makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about vaccines, including for children — and replaced them with eight new members. The new panel includes well-known vaccine critics.
