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Sept 17 (Reuters) – US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday named eight new members to the advisory panel that decides which preventive medical care, such as routine cancer screening or HIV prevention, should be provided at no cost under health insurance plans, after more than a year of disruption at the panel.
The Preventive Services Task Force, which typically holds three annual meetings and has 16 members, last met a year ago.
“The composition of this new slate represents a significant departure from the Task Force’s traditional membership. We believe maintaining a strong primary care voice must remain central to its work,” said Willie Underwood, president of the American Medical Association.
The recommendations should continue to be based on a transparent, rigorous and independent scientific process, while incorporating the perspectives of physicians who provide preventive care, the AMA said, adding that this would be essential to maintaining clinicians’ trust in the task force and encouraging patients to follow its recommendations.
Kennedy Jr. has reshaped several federal health advisory bodies, including the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, replacing its members after dismissing the entire panel last year.
A US Supreme Court decision affirmed Kennedy Jr.’s authority over the preventive care committee last June. The panel’s November meeting following the judgment did not take place due to a government shutdown in 2025.
Kennedy Jr. removed the chair and vice chair of the influential task force this May. A meeting in March was also postponed.
Evercore ISI analysts said the new appointments provided “incremental confidence” that the task force was moving forward and that more updates could be expected in the near future.
The panel’s recommendations are a key catalyst for cancer screening tests such as Guardant Health’s Shield blood test, the analysts added.
The US Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment on the date of the panel’s next meeting when contacted by Reuters.
The new members include pediatric hematologist-oncologist Seth Corey, pediatrician Patrick Hunter and cardiovascular expert Ronald Karlsberg. Stephen Parente, who works in health finance, has also joined the panel.
Professor of preventive cardiology Venkatesh Murthy, family medicine physician Goldie Stands-Over-Bull, Louis Wilson, a gastroenterology specialist, and Dennis Wulfeck, a diagnostic radiologist, were also named members.
The panel, comprising an independent group of volunteer experts, relies on support from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Jonathan Ananda)
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