By Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should not fire an advisory panel that determines what cancer screenings and other preventive health measures insurers must cover, an influential doctors’ group said on Sunday.
The American Medical Association sent Kennedy a letter on Sunday expressing its concern after the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday he planned to remove all of the panel’s members. The Department of Health and Human Services said Kennedy had not yet made a decision.
“On behalf of the physician and medical student members of the American Medical Association, I am writing to express our deep concern with the recent reports of your intention to remove all of the members of the United States Preventive Services Task Force,” John Whyte, the AMA chief executive officer, wrote.
HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the AMA letter.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, had said Kennedy planned to dismiss all 16 panel members in what would be the latest in a series of far-reaching actions by Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic, to reshape U.S. regulation of vaccines, food and medicine.
In June he fired all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of vaccine experts, replacing them with seven handpicked members, including known vaccine skeptics.
“USPSTF members play in weighing the benefits and harms of preventive services such as screenings, behavioral counseling, and preventive medications, and making evidence-based recommendations for implementation in primary care settings,” the AMA letter said.
“We urge you to keep the previously appointed USPSTF members and continue the task force’s regular meeting schedule to ensure recommendations are put forth, updated, and disseminated without delay,” it said.
The AMA passed an emergency resolution in June asking for a Senate investigation into the firing of ACIP members. The group also sent Kennedy a letter at the time calling for an immediate reversal of the changes.
(Reporting by Ahmed AbouleneinEditing by Ros Russell)
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