Overview

• Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called off the July 10 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force meeting on heart disease prevention without offering an explanation
• A June Supreme Court decision upheld no-cost coverage for the Task Force’s A- and B-rated recommendations while confirming the HHS secretary’s power to ignore its advice or remove members
• Experts note parallels with Kennedy’s earlier overhaul of the CDC vaccine advisory committee and warn that the Task Force could face similar restructuring
• Over 100 medical and public health organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, wrote to Congress this week urging statutory protections for the Task Force’s evidence-based work
• The 16-member USPSTF serves as a nonpartisan panel that reviews scientific evidence to guide insurance coverage of preventive services under the Affordable Care Act