US Health Secretary Kennedy fires heads of key preventive health panel

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired the chair and vice chair of the influential Preventive Services Task Force, which determines what preventive medical care should be provided at no cost to patients, according to letters sent earlier this month and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The task force, which typically has 16 members, last met over a year ago after Kennedy canceled its regularly scheduled meetings. No new members have been appointed to replace the five volunteers whose terms expired in December.

Panel chair Dr. John Wong, professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and vice chair Dr. Esa Davis, professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, were removed from the panel, according to letters dated May 11. An official from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Kennedy, confirmed the firings. Wong’s term was scheduled to end in March 2027, while Davis’ term was set to conclude in March 2028.

Kennedy’s letters described the terminations as “administrative in nature” and stated that applications for positions on the volunteer panel are open through May 23. Wong said in an email that both he and Davis had reapplied to the task force “with trepidation around the validity of the process.” Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last month, HHS said it was seeking clinicians and researchers for the task force, including specialties such as cardiology, oncology, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, family medicine, and health economics. HHS did not respond to questions about whether the remaining eight panel members would also be dismissed.

Medical experts have warned that Kennedy’s sidelining of the panel has delayed updates to screening guidelines for cancer, heart disease, and other conditions. In his correspondence, Kennedy emphasized that HHS aims to implement “standard operating procedures” at the task force and protect its long-term credibility.

Traditionally made up of independent volunteer experts, task force members are selected by the health secretary without Senate confirmation and receive support from the department’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Kennedy’s authority over the panel was affirmed by a Supreme Court decision last June, which maintained preventive care coverage requirements and confirmed that the Secretary can review the task force’s recommendations.

Last July, 104 health organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, sent a letter to Congressional health committees urging them “to protect the integrity” of the task force. The preventive care panel has also faced criticism from some conservatives for being too left-leaning.

-Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot/Reuters