Kennedy’s move to cancel the meeting of the preventive health working group increases the alarm

If you have already received a free or low -cost test for lung, breast, colon or cervix cancer that caught a tumor, this is probably due to a panel of 16 doctors and public health experts who have examined the evidence and determined that a screening could save your life.

This is why anxiety increases after the Secretary of Health and Social Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suddenly postponed a meeting this week with the very influential working group of the preventive services of the United States, a group of 16 independent volunteers who advise the agency on preventive health services and projections, in particular the style of mammogram, drugs for the prevention of HIV, heart disease For new mothers to breastfeed the lifestyle interventions for lifestyle interventions for heart disease. Health insurance plans are required to cover the recommendations of the working group under the Act respecting affordable care.

The meeting, scheduled for July 10, has been postponed without explanation.

In a statement sent by email, Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesman, refused to say why the meeting had been canceled or if it would be postponed. He did not respond to a request for a follow -up comment.

An opinion of the HHS sent on Monday afternoon to the members of the working group said that the agency “was eager to engage with the working group to promote the health and well-being of the American people”, according to two familiar people with the working group meeting.

The members of the working group did not receive any reason for the canceled meeting or if it would be postponed, said that the two people interviewed, who spoke under the cover of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Many members of the working group, however, fear Kennedy’s decision to point out that he is preparing to dismiss them and to install new members, as he did with a separate advisory committee, known as the Consultative Committee on Vaccination Practices (ACIP), the sources said.

Last month, Kennedy dismissed the 17 members of the AIPI – which made recommendations to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines, including for children – and replaced them by eight new members. The new panel includes well -known vaccine reviews.

“If you look at how things happened with the AIPI, it could be a warning signal,” said one of the people.

The United States preventive services working group is a less known group that was summoned for the first time in 1984 during the Reagan administration. It includes doctors, nurses, pediatricians and public health experts. The working group plays an important role because the ACA, more commonly known as Obamacare, obliges that most private insurers provide the services that the group recommends to patients at no cost. The working group makes its recommendations using a rating scale. Under the federal law, services that obtain a note A or B but must be covered by insurance plans for patients.

The advisory group has been indignant for its past decisions, in particular conservative groups on a recommendation “A” to cover the HIV prevention pill, known as the preparation. His controversial decision against the screening of routine blood tests for prostate cancer in 2008 was linked to the increase in advanced cases of the disease. The working group is currently advising the reduction of PSAs for older men, saying that men aged 55 to 69 should speak with their doctors benefits and damage.

The group generally updates its recommendations every five years after examining the last science on preventive care. For example, in 2021, the working group has updated its guidelines on the prevention of the heart attack, saying that most adults should not take aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or a stroke. The other recommendations of the working group understand that all women start screening for breast cancer every two years from the age of 40, down 50 years. He also recommended that children and adolescents aged 8 and over will be detected for anxiety. Both have “B” recommendations.

The canceled meeting was planned to discuss cardiovascular disease and prevention in adults and children, people said.

“This institution turns out to be vital,” said Arthur Caplan, head of the Nyu Langone Medical Center medical ethics in New York. “The working group provides one of the few independent assessments based on evidence of what should be covered, especially in the field of prevention, that Kennedy has made a priority.”

“The postponement of the meeting makes me very nervous,” added Caplan.

As Secretary of Health, Kennedy has the power to withdraw and appoint new members of the Committee, said Jen Kates, principal vice-president and director of the World Health and HIV Policy Program at KFF, a research group on health policies.

This authority was in fact a factor in the decision of the Supreme Court last month to maintain the provision of the affordable care law which obliges insurers to cover certain preventive services free of charge.

The court agreed with the Trump administration that the members of the working group were “lower officers,” said Kates because their work was led and supervised by Kennedy.

“The Supreme Court essentially judged that the [health] The secretary has the power to appoint members and withdraw them at will, “said Kates.” He therefore essentially affirms the argument that the secretary has the ultimate authority on the panel. “”

We do not know what areas of health care that Kennedy could target by waving the panel.

The preparation, the HIV prevention pill, is “to monitor,” said Kates, because the Trump administration has already decided to restrict access to the drug in other countries.

Caplan said Kennedy could order the working group to examine the subjects that interest him, such as nutrition or processed foods.

Health groups immediately postponed when the news announced that Kennedy postponed the meeting.

On Wednesday, a letter signed by more than 100 public health groups – including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics – urged American legislators to “defend the integrity of the working group”.

The letter was led by Academyhealth, a group representing health researchers.