


The American Medical Association is calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. not to dismantle a preventive task force following a report that he’s planning on removing all its members.
The top U.S. health lobbying group wrote to Kennedy on Sunday to express its “deep concern” over his goal to dismiss the members of the Preventive Services Task Force, echoing a similar move by Kennedy in June to gut a vaccine advisory board.
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“USPSTF members have been selected through an open, public nomination process and are nationally recognized experts in primary care, prevention and evidence-based medicine,” the AMA said in its letter to Kennedy. “They serve on a volunteer basis, dedicating their time to help reduce disease and improve the health of all Americans — a mission well-aligned with the Make America Healthy Again initiative.”
The task force was created more than 40 years ago but gained significance after Obamacare passed in 2010. The legislation requires health insurers and group health plans to provide preventive services that are recommended without imposing co-pays, deductibles, or cost-sharing charges on patients.
Earlier this year, the USPSTF was under Supreme Court review, targeting preventive coverage mandates under Obamacare, giving President Donald Trump a chance to undermine a controversial aspect of the healthcare program that he promised to “repeal and replace” in his first administration.
Its current structure was constitutionally upheld in June in a 6-3 decision. This structure protects insurance coverage mandates for 10 preventive treatments, including for certain types of cancer, perinatal depression, preeclampsia, and HIV.
Plaintiffs in the case argued that the panel was unconstitutional and was brought up after a Texas business did not wish to cover HIV preexposure prophylaxis, which is a recommended practice by the USPSTF.
The Supreme Court said in its ruling that its members are “inferior officers” who can be “removable at will” by the health and human services secretary.
However, the Wall Street Journal reported last week that Kennedy was planning to dismiss the 16-member panel for being “too woke” in his eyes. In June, Kennedy dismissed 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and replaced them with eight new advisers, including several of his allies, some having a history as vaccine critics.
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“Given the essential role USPSTF members play in weighing the benefits and harms of preventive services such as screenings, behavioral counseling, and preventative medications, and making evidence-based recommendations for implementation in primary care settings, we urge you to keep the previously appointed USPSTF members and continue the task force’s regular meeting schedule to ensure recommendations are put forth, updated, and disseminated without delay,” the AMA told Kennedy.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services stated that “no final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support the HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again.”