The AMA has released a letter opposing the rumored dismissal of the entire U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) by HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The letter writes that the USPSTF “plays a critical, nonpartisan role in guiding physicians’ efforts to prevent disease and improve the health of patients by helping to ensure access to evidence-based clinical preventive services.” It also directly urges Kennedy to “retain the previously appointed members of the USPSTF and commit to the longstanding process of regular meetings to ensure their important work can continue without interruption.”
The AMA’s letter writes that the task force’s recommendations “have a widespread impact on patients across the nation.” Insurers are required to cover USPSTF-recommended services “without cost sharing,” which ends up including “services such as screenings for colon, breast, and lung cancer; screenings for anxiety and depression in children; and screenings and preventive services for cardiovascular disease.” The members of the task force themselves are “selected through an open, public nomination process and are nationally recognized experts in patient care, prevention, and evidence-based medicine.”
The USPSTF library includes “90 preventive-service recommendation statements.” Both the AMA and more than “two dozen other physician, patient, and other healthcare groups” have gone on record about how the recommendations have saved lives.
Matt MacKenzie | Associate Editor
Matt is Associate Editor for Healthcare Purchasing News.
