RFK Jr. Demands Breakthrough After Sidelining Key Experts
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has effectively sidelined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, preventing the panel from meeting for over a year. Critics fear this move is part of a broader effort to replace evidence-based health guidance with ideologically aligned policies.
Why it matters
The suspension of a key independent advisory panel raises concerns about the politicization of public health and the potential for non-scientific standards to influence national medical coverage.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stymied a key panel for Alzheimer’s prevention even as he pushes for better screening.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the nation’s leading independent panel of experts on preventive care, was poised to issue new guidance on cognitive decline this year but has been unable to meet since March 2025.
“The evidence for dementia screening is not particularly strong,” John Ruiz, a clinical psychology professor at the University of Arizona and a recent task force member, told The Guardian . He added that the panel has called for more funding to strengthen the evidence base, but those recommendations cannot be released because the group has been unable to meet.
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