RFK Jr. Overhauls Key U.S. Health Screening Panel

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is remaking the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the independent panel that decides which cancer screenings and other preventive care insurers must cover for free. The task force will hold its first public meeting in 17 months this August, according to reports from The Hill and NOTUS.

What Happened?

The task force normally has 16 members. It has shrunk to half that size after the Trump administration canceled four scheduled meetings, did not replace members whose terms expired, and removed the panel's two vice chairs in May, according to The Hill.

HHS now plans to name eight new members and let the group meet in late August. A meeting originally set for July was pushed back. Senior HHS press secretary Emily Hilliard said the delay was needed to review an unusually large number of nominations and give new members time to get up to speed, The Hill reported.

According to NOTUS, the search for new members is being led mainly by Roger Klein, who directs the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, along with career staff. Former vice chairs are not being consulted the way they normally would be. Klein is reportedly looking for medical specialists rather than the primary care doctors who have typically filled the panel.

Why This Matters

The task force's recommendations carry real weight. Under federal law, most private insurers and expanded state Medicaid programs must cover any screening the panel rates highly, with no copay. That includes mammograms, colonoscopies, and pap tests, Spotlight PA reported.

Four finished recommendations are stuck in limbo because they have not been formally published. They cover cervical cancer screening, perinatal depression, alcohol misuse, and fall prevention for older adults, according to The Hill.

Kennedy has repeatedly criticized the panel. He told a House committee in April that the task force had been "lackadaisical" and had failed to push for earlier Alzheimer's screening, The Hill reported. He has not laid out in detail what direction he wants the panel to take next.

Former task force members say they are worried about the shift. A former co-chair whose term ended in March told Spotlight PA that Kennedy is repeating a pattern he used last year when he replaced the country's main vaccine advisory panel with his own picks, though this time "in slow motion." Aaron Carroll, president of the health policy nonprofit AcademyHealth, said moving toward specialists instead of primary care doctors would mark a major change from how the panel has worked for decades.

What Happens Next

HHS has not said exactly when it will name the eight new members. The task force is expected to meet for the first time in 17 months in late August, where it will face a backlog of unreviewed recommendations built up during the pause, former members told Spotlight PA.