Three Republican senators are throwing their support behind Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he weighs reforms to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), arguing the panel has strayed into ideological territory.
The USPSTF, an “independent” advisory group, plays a key role in shaping which preventive services—such as cancer screenings—must be covered free of charge by health insurers across the United States.
“Americans deserve to know health guidelines are based on real science, not radical wokeness. The Task Force needs to get back to its mission of giving clear, evidence-based recommendations people can trust,” said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana in a statement.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Secretary Kennedy is considering removing some members of the task force. The senators say they support such a move, particularly if it counters the group’s recent emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. They cite documents like the 2023 Report to Congress on High-Priority Evidence Gaps for Clinical Preventive Services and alleged “social justice activism” by task force members.
“In particular, the USPSTF departed from its proper activities in its December 2023 Health Equity Framework,” the senators wrote in a letter. “The framework criticizes ‘equal access to quality health care for all’ as an inadequate goal of public health and announces that the Task Force will instead use equity as ‘a criterion of the ‘public health importance’ of a topic’ for consideration.”
The letter continues: “Far from simply recognizing health disparities between certain populations, ‘health equity’ as described by the USPSTF includes ‘information on risk factors that intersect with race and/or ethnicity or other disadvantaged populations (e.g., sexual and gender minorities) and that affect prevalence and burden of disease’ and ‘any inequities in how preventive services are provided, accessed, or received.’ These criteria would allow the Task Force to issue recommendations outside its proper purview and impose leftwing ideology.”
The senators argue that these proposed reforms align with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to eliminate DEI efforts in the federal government and restore a focus on “merit-based opportunity” while combating illegal discrimination.
“Allowing the Task Force to pursue the Health Equity Framework means allowing it to exceed its statutory mission and target social groups that comport with a progressive agenda,” the letter states. “It means discounting universally beneficial recommendations as inadequate. It means disregarding statutory limits and instead undertaking a social justice crusade through the lens of critical race theory and gender ideology. This would be a mistake. The result is ineffectiveness, discrimination, and division. The USPSTF should be working for all Americans equally.”
When asked by Fox News Digital about the Wall Street Journal report, an HHS spokesperson responded, “No final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again.”
However, not everyone supports the potential shakeup. The American Medical Association voiced its concern in a letter to Secretary Kennedy.
“USPSTF plays a critical, non-partisan role in guiding physicians’ efforts to prevent disease and improve the health of patients by helping to ensure access to evidence-based clinical preventive services,” the AMA wrote. “As such, we urge you to retain the previously appointed members of the USPSTF and commit to the long-standing process of regular meetings to ensure their important work can continue without interruption.”
