RFK Jr. Fires the Two Vice Chairs of the Panel That Decides Which Preventive Care Insurers Must Cover

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent letters on May 11 removing Dr. John Wong and Dr. Esa Davis, the two vice chairs of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The letters attributed the removals to an administrative review of current appointments and stated the action was "not to be understood as a removal based on your leadership or contributions." The firings, first reported on May 20, left eight sitting members on a panel with 16 seats.

The task force's recommendations are not advisory in effect. Under the Affordable Care Act, services the panel rates highly must be covered by most private insurance without cost sharing, which means its membership determines whether screenings for cancer, cardiovascular disease and other conditions are free to patients nationwide. Reducing the panel to half strength gives the secretary wide latitude to reshape it before the next round of recommendations, and follows his earlier replacement of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee.

HHS did not identify replacements at the time of the reporting reviewed, and no legal challenge to the removals had been filed.