Trump's Trials - Medical groups worry RFK Jr. could dismiss primary care panel

Episode Date: July 28, 2025

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may soon dismiss the members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an advisory panel of primary care experts, raising "deep concern" from the American Medical Association and other top medical groups. NPR's Pien Huang reports. Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Plus it stars Pedro Pascal and works for casual viewers and nerds alike. We'll tell you why on Pop Culture Happy Hour. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Steve Schaip. Medical groups ask if Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is looking to dismiss the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force. That group makes guidelines for primary care clinicians. Earlier this month, Kennedy canceled a planned meeting of the task force and NPR's Ping Huang has more. Dr. Bobby McCamala is president of the American

Medical Association. It's very concerning and it's not the first time we've been concerned. He says last month Kennedy dismissed the members of a different advisory committee, one on vaccines for the CDC, and replaced them with his own picks who largely lacked the expertise in vaccines and immunology the members typically have. Mukamala worries the same could happen here with the independent group of experts that focus on primary care. When you have something good and you don't know if it's going to be replaced with something good, it's just a risk that nobody should take. The plan was first reported in the Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is a group of independent experts that serve four years at a time. They reviewed data and made recommendations for preventing all sorts of diseases since 1984. Most recently, what they recommend tends to be covered by health insurance. Dr. Alex Christ is a family physician at Virginia Commonwealth University and a former chair of the Task Force. Probably every patient I see, I'm using about five to 20 of their guidelines to make sure that I'm keeping that person healthy. That includes on topics like mammograms for screening for breast

cancer, colonoscopies for colon cancer, screening and managing high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, preventing falls, the list goes on. The American Medical Association, along with over 100 other health organizations, have sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to protect and preserve the integrity of this group. Otherwise, they say, primary care doctors could lose trust in the guidelines and the results could be devastating for patients, hospitals, systems and payers. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ping Huang, NPR News.

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