The news: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to remove all 16 members of a task force that advises the government on preventive health services due to the committee being perceived as too “woke,” according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The decision, which has not been finalized, would be the second time in the past few months that Kennedy has fired every member of a key health advisory panel.
Our first take:The US Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendations inform health insurers’ coverage determinations for services such as cancer screenings and primary care doctors’ decisions on how to best care for their patients. A complete overhaul of another important panel of medical experts could reduce patient access to critical preventive care while confusing doctors about which guidelines to rely on—-especially if Kennedy chooses replacements based on politics and like-minded beliefs rather than health expertise.
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