U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the chair and vice chair of the Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an influential panel that determines what preventive medical care should be provided at no cost to patients, according to letters sent earlier this month.
Key Takeaways
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the chair and vice chair of the Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an influential panel that determines what preventive medical care should be provided at no cost to patients, according to letters sent earlier this month.
- RFK Jr. removed Drs. John Wong and Esa Davis from USPSTF leadership roles
- Firing part of broader reforms to health advisory panels under Kennedy's leadership
- Panel's meetings canceled over past year; new members not yet named for expired terms
The firings come as part of broader changes to health advisory panels under Kennedy's leadership. The task force, which typically has 16 members, last met over a year ago after Kennedy canceled its regularly scheduled meetings. New members have not been named to replace the five volunteers whose terms expired in December.
Panel chair Dr. John Wong and vice chair Dr. Esa Davis were removed from the panel according to letters dated May 11. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed the firings, stating that Kennedy's letters said the terminations were 'administrative in nature' and applications for a seat on the volunteer panel are open through May 23.
Kennedy told lawmakers last month that he was reforming the taskforce, calling it 'lackadaisical', so that it would meet more frequently and 'have, for the first time, transparency'. Some health advocates had worried that Kennedy was preparing to replace the expert panel with less experienced political appointees.
In letters dated May 11, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. notified the two doctors who chaired the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that he was terminating their appointments immediately, before the end of their multiyear terms. The panel updates guidelines with letter grades showing the strength of the science. Under the Affordable Care Act, most insurance plans must cover preventive services given an “A” or “B” grade without requiring a co-pay.
The letters were first reported by The New York Times. An HHS spokesman didn’t respond to questions about why the two were fired. The panel has staggered terms so that normally health secretaries can regularly appoint new members, making their mark on the task force without upending it, said Aaron Carroll of the nonpartisan healthy policy group AcademyHealth.
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