Abolishing the well-entrenched, forty-plus year old, highly-respected, 16-member institution called the United States Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, will take some big Kahunas. It will take a man who is very sure of his opinions on healthcare policy, and who is able to withstand the storm of criticism and opposition he will face. Make no mistake about it, he will face incredible resistance.
That man is Health and Human Services (HHC) Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and his hope is to remove the current members of the task force and replace them with physicians and experts who focus less on being social justice warriors, and more on the everyday health issues of the majority of Americans. I couldn’t agree more. Dropping the woke ideology and eliminating the influence it has on health care decisions is important. The knock on RFK Jr. is that he’s neither a physician nor a scientist, and he has taken some pretty controversial stances on vaccines and autism. What qualifications does he have to replace members of the task force?
My issue with the USPSTF is that it has always been out of step with the thinking and anxieties of the majority of Americans, and has based it’s recommendations on scientific evidence, yes, but evidence heavily influenced by whether a screening procedure is cost effective, and whether it forces patients to submit to high risk diagnostic procedures which may or may not be necessary.
USPSTF recommendations have left doctors and patients scratching their heads with confusion on many occasions. For example, decreasing the frequency of mammograms and downplaying the value of PSA testing have brought widespread criticism and procedural change. It seems to be embroiled in controversy all the time, but the American Medical Association (AMA) and six other major provider advocacy groups have backed it and warn against altering its make-up and mission.
Whether individual members are replaced or the entire mission of the USPSTF is changed, Kennedy faces an uphill fight. I think if the task force can re-focus on policies that are solely medically oriented and are not politically influenced, the task force’s mission would be better fulfilled. And if there were a predominance of primary care physicians from all areas of the country on the task force, the attitude of “the people” would be far better represented. Today’s task force is more elitist than mainstream and to improve credibility with “the American people” that balance must change.
Maybe that’s what Kennedy means—Replace not demolish. I think that’s enough. Then maybe some totally impractical policies and recommendations will stop. Get back to business USPSTF! Tell us what the evidence says we should do and not what you think we should do.
Reference: Ault, Alicia. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: 5 Things to Know. Medscape 2025 August 8.
