Bich NguyenApr 24

"Kennedy is seeking to expand the US Preventive Services Task Force’s membership beyond primary care doctors to specialists, a move that raises concerns among some former panel members and other experts that specialists may not have the needed breadth of knowledge."

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/23/health/rfk-jr-hhs-panel-specialists

#healthcare #PublicHealth #prevention #PrimaryCare #FamilyMedicine #HHS #USPSTF #ACA #obamacare #insurance

RFK Jr. wants to add specialists to preventive care panel. Experts say it’s the wrong move

Less than a year after remaking a key vaccine advisory committee, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has set his sights on overhauling an HHS panel of medical experts that determine what preventive care Americans can receive at no cost.

CNN
Steven ZekowskiJan 28

> The task force, which is a scientifically independent volunteer panel of national prevention experts, was formed in 1984

> The ACA...requires all insurers to cover at 100% any preventive service that is given an A or B recommendation by the task force.

> the Trump administration has taken actions recently that have slowed the task force's work. A planned meeting of the task force in July was canceled, and its November meeting was postponed.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/preventivecare/119411

#UShealthcare #USPSTF

Experts Alarmed by USPSTF Work Slowdown

'This is going to be a recipe for disaster'

Helen BranswellAug 4, 2025
The #USPSTF, which is under fire from the HHS secretary, lowered the age at which it recommended colorectal cancer screening to 45 from 50 in 2021, because more cases of advanced cancer were being seen in younger adults. New studies suggest the new policy is working. https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/04/colon-cancer-screening-guidelines-age-45-new-studies/
Screening guideline change led to more colorectal cancers being detected early in younger adults

Two new studies show that colorectal cancer screening sharply increased for people ages 45 to 49 after the age recommendation changed in 2021.

STAT
The OneJul 28, 2025

#USPSTF #rfkjr #science

USPSTF is one of those organizations that exist but we don’t know about their existence and we all benefit from them , this administration is destroying things that work , in my mind I would think that we should leave alone things that work , but this administration doesn’t think that way.

https://open.substack.com/pub/insidemedicine/p/sorry-but-thanks-to-rfk-jr-you-now?r=17qxua&utm_medium=ios

Sorry, but thanks to RFK Jr., you now have to know what the USPSTF is.

Plus, updates from the FDA and other must-know stories in public health.

Inside Medicine
Bruce MirkenJul 18, 2025
You've probably never heard of #USPSTF, but if you think helping people avoid getting desperately ill is a good idea, you should know that #RFKJr seems to be trying to destroy it. https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/116572
Opinion | As Past USPSTF Chairs, We Fear for the Future of the Task Force

In the wake of a cancelled July meeting, we'd like to clarify its role and structure

Ars Technica NewsJul 11, 2025
RFK Jr. may be about to demolish preventive health panel, health groups fear https://arstechni.ca/hAfB #preventivehealth #robertfkennedyjr #Health #USPSTF #ACIP
RFK Jr. may be about to demolish preventive health panel, health groups fear

The fear is that the USPSTF will go the same way as the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel.

Ars Technica
Brittany TrangJul 9, 2025

BREAKING: Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has abruptly canceled a meeting of the USPSTF expert panel that to some degree controls which preventative services are covered under insurance with its recommendations.

No reason was given.

More @STAT: https://www.statnews.com/2025/07/09/uspstf-rfk-jr-meeting-canceled-preventive-care/

#health #healthcare #medicine #uspstf #rfk #hhs #healthpolicy #Publichealth #primarycare

Kennedy abruptly cancels preventative care committee meeting

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has abruptly canceled a meeting of the USPSTF, an expert panel that evaluates the nation’s preventative care recommendations.

STAT
Ars Technica NewsJun 27, 2025
SCOTUS upholds part of ACA that makes preventive care fully covered https://arstechni.ca/EkQh #preventiveservices #USSupremeCourt #Health #USPSTF #ACA
SCOTUS upholds part of ACA that makes preventive care fully covered

Cancer screenings, statins, vaccines, PrEP, will continue to be covered in full.

Ars Technica
Show threadNonilexApr 21, 2025

"The secretary can remove them at will, & the threat of removal is the ultimate tool for control over final decisions on recommendations," #Trump #DOJ lawyers wrote.

For this & other reasons, DOJ lawyers argued, the #USPSTF's members should be seen as so-called "inferior officers," meaning they can be lawfully appointed by an executive branch dept head - like #HHS secy #RFKJr - & do not require #Senate confirmation under the #Constitution.

#law #SCOTUS #medicine #ACA #insurance #PreventiveCare

Show threadNonilexApr 21, 2025

The #conservative #5thCircuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2024 that the task force's structure violates the #Constitution, as plaintiffs claimed.

The govt's appeal of the 5th Circuit's decision initially was filed by Democratic President #Biden's admin before being taken up by Republican Pres #Trump's admin.

Trump's admin argued in a #SCOTUS brief that the #USPSTF's #PreventiveCare recs cannot become legally binding on insurers w/o the #HHS secy's [#RFKJr] permission.

#law #medicine #insurance