HHS Secretary RFK Jr Dismisses USPSTF Leadership, Signaling Overhaul of Preventive Care Mandates

In a move that has sparked widespread concern among public health officials and medical societies, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has fired top leaders of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).¹ The early termination of the panel’s chairs marks the latest escalation in Kennedy’s broader effort to overhaul the federal health apparatus and fundamentally reshape public health guidance. The panel’s top 2 leaders, John Wong, MD, and Esa Davis, MD, MPH, were dismissed effective May 11, according to letters obtained by The New York Times.

The USPSTF is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine whose recommendations carry immense legal weight. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commercial health plans and Medicaid expansion programs are mandated to fully cover preventive services receiving an "A" or "B" grade from the task force, without patient cost-sharing. The panel’s guidelines dictate free access to vital screenings like mammograms, colonoscopies, and depression evaluations, meaning leadership changes directly impact the care millions of Americans can afford and how payers structure benefits.

Kennedy’s authority to make changes to the panel was up for debate until last June, when the Supreme Court issued a landmark 6-3 decision in Kennedy v Braidwood Management, Inc, which directly validated the administration's sweeping authority over the panel.² Resolving a multiyear legal battle that threatened to dismantle the ACA's preventive care mandate, the Court ruled that USPSTF members are "inferior officers" whose appointments by the HHS secretary are constitutional under the Appointments Clause.

In the termination letters, Kennedy noted that he “directed a review” of USPSTF appointments to “ensure clarity, continuity, and confidence" in HHS's supervisory responsibilities and to "protect the integrity of the Task Force’s work.”¹ He stated the immediate dismissals aimed to “avoid uncertainty that could jeopardize the validity of future Task Force actions.” The letters noted that the terminations were unrelated to performance, and both physicians are free to reapply.

The unexpected termination drew immediate condemnation from public health advocates. In a formal statement addressing the removals, AcademyHealth warned that unseating the expert panel's leadership undermines the fundamental translation of health services research into equitable clinical care.³ The organization emphasized that bypassing established, nonpartisan appointment frameworks threatens to dissolve public and provider trust in federally vetted medical guidance, leaving payers and health systems facing prolonged operational instability.

Aaron Carroll, MD, MS, president of AcademyHealth, told The New York Times that the task force's credibility relies entirely on “transparent and rigorous procedures” for evaluating evidence and appointing members.¹ By firing its leaders before their terms concluded, the administration is “tampering with the critical infrastructure” necessary for Americans to trust government health care systems, Carroll warned.

This leadership shakeup follows a series of administrative disruptions orchestrated by Kennedy, who recently labeled the panel’s past work “lackadaisical and negligent.” Over the past year, Kennedy has altered the task force's operational momentum by indefinitely postponing its last 3 scheduled meetings and failing to replace members whose terms expired in December.

During his time as HHS secretary, abrupt dismissals have become an emerging pattern for Kennedy, who removed all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the independent panel that advises the CDC on vaccine use, last summer.⁴

This operational standstill has already hindered clinical outputs.¹ The committee issued fewer clinical recommendations last year and failed to publish its legally mandated annual report to Congress detailing critical gaps in scientific evidence—a report federal agencies rely on to allocate health care research funding.

For managed care executives, clinicians, and patients, this disruption introduces substantial regulatory uncertainty. If the panel's capacity to evaluate evidence remains compromised or if its composition shifts ideologically, the pipeline of federally mandated preventive services could see unprecedented changes, transforming the landscape of commercial health coverage.

References

1. Astor M. Kennedy fires leaders of key health task force. The New York Times. May 20, 2026. Accessed May 20, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/well/rfk-jr-firings-preventative-services-task-force.html
2. Bonavitacola J. Supreme Court decision on Braidwood protects insurance coverage of preventive care. AJMC^®. June 17, 2026. Accessed May 20, 2026. https://www.ajmc.com/view/supreme-court-decision-on-braidwood-protects-insurance-coverage-of-preventive-care
3. AcademyHealth statement on reports that USPSTF leadership has been removed. AcademyHealth. May 20, 2026. Accessed May 20, 2026. https://academyhealth.org/blog/2026-05/academyhealth-statement-reports-uspstf-leadership-has-been-removed
4. Grossi G. RFK Jr sweeps clean CDC vaccine advisory panel, aiming to bolster public confidence. AJMC. June 9, 2025. Accessed May 20, 2026. https://www.ajmc.com/view/rfk-jr-sweeps-clean-cdc-vaccine-advisory-panel-aiming-to-bolster-public-confidence