Senators demand answers from RFK Jr. on task force overhaul

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and a group of 16 Senate Democrats are demanding answers from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his recent overhaul of an influential panel of experts that determines which preventive services insurers must cover.

In a letter sent to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Monday and shared first with The Hill, the senators criticized changes to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and called on Kennedy to ensure the panel remains independent and science-focused in its recommendations.

They asked for a response by Oct. 15 to questions about Kennedy’s justification for the updates, including removing the task force’s leadership and shortening the time to select new members.

Last month, the HHS chief appointed eight new members to the task force after more than a year of blocking the panel’s work, raising concerns that he intends to put an ideological spin on the historically independent task force.

Some of the new panelists, including the chair, have criticized transgender healthcare for minors. Others have scrutinized COVID-19 vaccines, and others are physician specialists, as opposed to primary care doctors who have typically served on the panel.

Eight members predating the Trump administration remain on the task force.

In the past, the task force typically called in specialists to consult on discussions relevant to their expertise, but it did not traditionally welcome nonprimary care doctors to join the panel to avoid potential conflicts of interest tied to their medical specialty.

“Given the background of many of the new members, we have strong concerns about the Task Force’s ability to make independent, evidence-based recommendations,” the lawmakers wrote.

“As of writing today, the Conflict of Interest disclosures page – where individual Members’ disclosures were historically published — is barren and inactive, which gives us serious concern regarding the independence of these new members,” the senators continued.

They also expressed concern over the speed and lack of transparency in the selection process.

The process to fill the open seats began in April, when a Federal Register notice solicited nominations with a May deadline.

The task force chair and vice chair would typically be involved in a public process of screening and vetting potential new members. But Kennedy fired the leaders in May, and without their leadership, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Director Roger Klein — a political appointee — has been heading the efforts.

The panel’s work has stalled since a 2025 Supreme Court decision found the HHS secretary has the authority to unilaterally appoint and remove task force members and overrule their decisions. He has prevented it from meeting four times, most recently in July.

The panel reviews reams of scientific evidence to make recommendations on services such as cancer screenings, HIV prevention medications and more.

It makes its recommendations using a grading scale, and plans under the Affordable Care Act require insurers to cover services the task force recommends with a “grade” of A or B at no cost to patients.