Robert F Kennedy Jr has fired the two leaders of an influential health group that determines when insurance must provide free preventive care, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, for millions of Americans. In letters dated 11 May, the health secretary notified Drs John Wong and Esa Davis, who chaired the US Preventive Services Task Force, that their appointments were terminated immediately, before the end of their multiyear terms.
Taskforce sidelined before dismissals
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had already largely sidelined the taskforce, indefinitely postponing scheduled public meetings over the past year. This left long-expected updates on cervical cancer screenings and other topics in limbo. The panel, created in the 1980s, scrutinizes evidence behind disease prevention tools such as depression screenings and statins to prevent heart attacks. It updates guidelines with letter grades showing the strength of science. Under the Affordable Care Act, most insurance plans must cover preventive services given an “A” or “B” grade without requiring a co-pay.
No reason given for dismissals
Kennedy’s letters did not clarify why he ousted Wong and Davis. He wrote that their “leadership, contributions and expertise” advanced the taskforce’s work “to improve the health of Americans” and encouraged them to reapply. He said he was reviewing taskforce appointments “to ensure clarity, continuity and confidence” in HHS oversight. The letters were first reported by the New York Times. An HHS spokesman did not respond to questions about why the two were fired.
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”. The panel holds public meetings, opens draft guidelines to public comment, and publishes the scientific evidence behind them.
Concerns over political interference
Some health advocates worried that Kennedy was preparing to replace the expert panel with less experienced political appointees, as he had done with a critical vaccine advisory committee. Over the past year, the taskforce was not allowed to publish its final update to the cervical cancer screening guideline or take steps to update recommendations about maternal depression, said former taskforce chair Dr Michael Silverstein, a pediatrician. “This is a level of government intrusion into scientific processes that I’ve not experienced in my 10 years on the taskforce,” he said.
The panel has staggered terms so that health secretaries can regularly appoint new members without upending it, said Aaron Carroll of the nonpartisan healthy policy group AcademyHealth.
