HHS abruptly calls off meeting of expert panel on preventive care, raising questions about its future

The US Department of Health and Human Services called off an upcoming meeting of expert advisers on preventive health care, raising questions about the future of the longtime, nonpolitical advisory group.

A notice was sent Monday afternoon saying that the office of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is postponing the July meeting, according to a person familiar with the details who declined to be named because they weren’t authorized to discuss the meeting publicly.

“Moving forward, HHS looks forward to engaging with the task force to promote the health and well-being of the American people,” the notice continued.

But the cancellation also arrives as Kennedy pushes to reshape the health agencies and expunge them of what he has called longtime health-care industry influence on policies. Kennedy last month dismissed a 17-member US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee and two days later named eight new picks to guide the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Several of the new members have questioned vaccine safety; two have testified in court against vaccine manufacturers.

“There is extraordinary concern,” among those connected to the task force, “that it’s about to be dismissed, like ACIP was,” the person familiar with the meeting said.

Kennedy’s control over the task force was recently solidified by the US Supreme Court. Last month, in a case challenging a popular provision of the Affordable Care Act, the justices upheld the constitutionality of the task force that recommends preventive health care services that insurers must cover at no-cost. Both the Biden and Trump administrations argued that the task force was properly set up — and therefore, its recommendations should be upheld — because the Health and Human Services secretary was able to name and fire its members.

The 16-member task force was set up in 1984 and provides recommendations about preventive services, such as screenings for cancer and various disorders and counseling, that help make Americans aware of illnesses and conditions earlier, when they can be easier and less expensive to treat. The Affordable Care Act mandates that those services are provided without charge to patients.

While consumer advocates cheered the Supreme Court ruling, they cautioned that it gives Kennedy more power over preventive care recommendations.

“The big takeaway here is that the Task Force’s recommendations are binding, just as the ACA’s drafters intended,” Nicholas Bagley, a law professor at the University of Michigan, posted on X last month. “BUT the scheme is constitutional only because Sec Kennedy can exercise near-complete control over Task Force recommendations. A mixed bag!”

Thursday’s meeting agenda was to include a discussion of recommendations around “healthy diet, physical activity, and/or weight loss to prevent cardiovascular disease in adults,” focused on “behavioral counseling interventions,” the person familiar with the meeting said. The panel typically meets in person three times a year, and Thursday’s meeting was to be in person. In addition, they typically meet virtually every week.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.