US Health Secretary dismisses USPSTF leaders, sparking medical community alarm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fires two vice chairs of the US Preventive Services Task Force, leaving eight vacancies on the panel and raising fears that insurance-covered screenings for cancer and other conditions may be politicised.
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has dismissed two vice chairs of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), creating eight vacancies on the critical, nonpartisan panel. The American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians have expressed alarm, warning that the removal of independent experts threatens evidence-based preventive care guidelines, including mammograms, colonoscopies, and cancer screenings.
The two fired vice chairs are John Wong, a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, and Esa Davis, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Kennedy issued a termination letter dated May 11, stating the action was "administrative in nature" and unrelated to performance, aiming to "preserve confidence in the continuity and durability of its work." The letter asserted that the terminations would "avoid uncertainty that could jeopardize the validity of future task force actions."
The USPSTF typically consists of 16 independent volunteer preventive medicine experts serving four-year, overlapping terms. Under the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans must cover preventive services graded as "A" or "B" by the panel, which reflect the evidence-based certainty of benefit. With the new firings, the panel is left with eight vacancies, including the chair and vice chair positions.
Kennedy has previously undermined the USPSTF by failing to replace members whose terms ended at the turn of the year. This inaction prevented the task force from meeting over the past year and blocked it from releasing finalized recommendations on self-collected samples for cervical cancer screening. Kennedy has disparaged the USPSTF, calling it too "woke" and "lackadaisical and negligent for 20 years."
Doctors fear the USPSTF will suffer the same fate as the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP), where Kennedy previously removed expert members and replaced them with unqualified allies to push through politicised recommendations. Former USPSTF chair Michael Silverstein stated the administration is now targeting cancer screenings after previously targeting children's immunisations.
American Medical Association President Bobby Mukkamala said the organisation was "extremely concerned" by the firings. He urged the Department of Health and Human Services to restore the USPSTF’s long-standing, transparent process for selecting members and commit to holding regular meetings. Jan Carney, president of the American College of Physicians, said the group was "alarmed" and blasted the lack of transparency in the review process.
