RFK Jr. Fires Two Leaders of Major U.S. Health Task Force

Key TakeawaysTwo key leaders of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force were firedThe decision for their removal is suggested to be politically motivatedPublic health experts worry this will impact future health recommendations for Americans .WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two key leaders of the task force that sets insurance coverage rules.Dr. John Wong, a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, and Dr. Esa Davis, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, were notified by mail that they have been terminated from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The letters, dated May 11, said the firings were effective immediately to “avoid uncertainty that could jeopardize the validity of future task force actions,” according to The New York Times. The task force determines what preventive care insurers will cover.Kennedy wrote that his decision followed a review of the current task force and was unrelated to the two leaders' performance, Axios reported. The letters did not explain why the secretary believed the pair’s leadership put future task force actions in jeopardy."[T]he Department is taking this step to help protect the Task Force and preserve confidence in the continuity and durability of its work," the letters say.Davis and Wong were invited to reapply for other positions on the task force, according to The Times — an offer that both took advantage of. Wong told The Times that during a May 12 meeting with HHS officials, he and Davis were told they had been “prematurely” appointed under the Biden administration.Their dismissals have sparked concerns among public health experts. They worry that Kennedy is politicizing the task force, which makes recommendations on such medical services as mammograms, colonoscopies, depression screenings and more based on scientific evidence, said The Times. The task force also determines what medical screenings and preventive procedures insurers must cover cost-free for millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act. Wong and former task force chairman Dr. Michael Silverstein, who left in March at the end of his term, told The Times that the administration had interfered with some of its past recommendations. As an example, they said the task force was blocked from making public a recommendation endorsing self-testing for cervical cancer as an alternative to Pap smears.Silverstein likened the interference to Kennedy's overhaul of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which makes vaccine recommendations. Amid court challenges and a legal defeat for HHS, its charter and membership are in flux. “I am concerned that what the administration did to the ACIP committee, they are doing to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, but in slow motion,” Silverstein told The Times.“The administration came after children’s immunizations, and now it’s coming after our mammograms and our other cancer screenings, and the medical community cannot let this happen,” he added.Dr. Aaron Carroll, president of AcademyHealth, a health policy research organization, told Axios that he's concerned what these dismissals could mean for the future."It could lead to political influence. It could lead to less rigor in the guidelines," he said. "It could lead to evidence being used or misused to not only make recommendations but determine what Americans get covered by insurance without copay, and what prevention they will or will not have."More informationThe USPSTF is taking nominations for the task force.SOURCES: The New York Times, May 20, 2026; Axios, May 20, 2026.What This Means For YouThe U.S. Preventive Services Task Force decides what health care screenings insurance must cover. Changes in its makeup could affect coverage..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

RFK Jr. Fires Two Leaders of Major U.S. Health Task Force

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