Source: Axios
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to oust the 16-member expert panel that makes recommendations for preventive services that insurers must cover fully under the Affordable Care Act, according to reports.
Why it matters: About 100 million people get no-cost cancer screenings, counseling and other services under the ACA. But some conservatives have urged Kennedy to replace the current members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, saying they push race and gender ideology on doctors.
- Kennedy postponed a meeting of the panel scheduled for earlier this month amid speculation in the public health community that he could fire its members.
The latest: Kennedy plans to dismiss all the members of the advisory panel because he views them as too “woke,” the Wall Street Journal first reported, quoting people familiar with the matter.
- The Supreme Court last month upheld the structure of the task force in a case surrounding coverage of HIV prevention drugs, ruling that the long-standing panel of volunteer scientists are accountable to the Health and Human Services secretary, who has the power to remove and replace members at will.
- The case stemmed from a 2020 lawsuit by Christian-owned companies over a task force recommendation requiring them to cover no-cost HIV drugs in their employer-sponsored insurance.
Kennedy has already fired all members of the panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on immunization recommendations, removing all 17 of its members and replacing them with handpicked successors.
- The American Medical Association on Sunday expressed “deep concern” over the latest reports and urged Kennedy in a letter to retain the previously appointed task force members.
- “No final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again,” Andrew Nixon, HHS director of communications, wrote in an email to Axios.
