Technology and Science17 September, 20263 min read
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Names Eight New Members to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
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RFK Jr. named eight new members to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Three physicians known for opposing gender-affirming care join the panel.
Panel reshaped
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday named eight new members to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential panel that determines what preventive medical services insurers must cover for free.
The Hill said the revamp came after months of vacancies and that for the first time physician specialists, not only primary care doctors, would fill specialized roles on the task force.
HHS.gov said the new appointees were announced through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and that they would join eight members already serving on the task force.
In a statement, Kennedy said, “We are strengthening the Task Force to ensure it asks hard questions, follows the evidence wherever it leads, and maintains the highest standards of scientific integrity.”
HHS.gov also quoted AHRQ Director Roger D. Klein, M.D., J.D., saying, “Each brings valuable expertise and a unique perspective to the Task Force as it develops recommendations that help people live longer, healthier lives.”
Critics warn of drift
The Hill reported that the American Medical Association said the panel must continue to prioritize primary care physicians, with AMA President Willie Underwood III arguing, “We believe maintaining a strong primary care voice must remain central to its work.” STAT described the shake-up as a move to revive the panel after it had been largely defunct, noting that the panel “hasn’t met in more than a year, after its meetings were canceled by Kennedy.” Ars Technica said the USPSTF is supposed to use a rigorous, transparent framework and graded recommendations on an A to D scale, and it linked the task force’s decisions to insurer coverage at no cost for A or B services.
Ars Technica also said Kennedy sidelined the USPSTF for more than a year by canceling meetings and refusing to appoint new members as terms expired, and it added that in May Kennedy fired two leaders. In the same Ars Technica account, the outlet quoted the concern that the new slate represented “a significant departure” from previous appointments, with five of the eight members described as specialists.
What changes next
The Hill said the USPSTF makes recommendations using a grading scale and that ObamaCare requires insurers to cover services the task force recommends with a “grade” of A or B at no cost to patients.
“ObamaCare requires insurers to cover services the task force recommends with a ‘grade’ of A or B at no cost to patients.”
STAT said the task force’s recommendations are tied to access, noting that the panel’s power helps determine when Americans get screening colonoscopies at no cost and free access to drugs that help prevent HIV.
HHS.gov listed the new chair as Seth J. Corey, M.D., M.P.H., and it described him as a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Cleveland Clinic and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center with 41 years of experience providing care for children and young adults.
HHS.gov also named Venkatesh L. Murthy, M.D., Ph.D., as a professor of preventive cardiology at the University of Michigan and said he has 14 years of experience providing cardiovascular care.
Ars Technica said the conflict-of-interest disclosures policy had been removed from the USPSTF webpage and that the webpage previously included it now says the policy is being updated, as the new members take their seats.