Every year, millions of Americans get free mammograms, colonoscopies, HIV screenings, and depression care because an independent panel of medical experts determined the evidence supports covering those services. That panel is the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Last week, in an unprecedented move, the Task Force's two sitting chairs, John Wong and Esa Davis, were removed from their positions. With a nomination deadline for new members this Saturday and no independent review of who gets seated, the free preventive services that millions of Americans rely on could be compromised, delayed, or reversed.
The Task Force has not held a meeting in over a year. Eight of its sixteen seats are now vacant. The chairs who would traditionally provide independent review of new member applications are no longer in their positions. The nomination window closes Saturday. There is still time to act.
This is not the first time we have seen this pattern. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was overhauled through a similar sequence of disruption followed by rapid reconstitution. A federal judge subsequently ruled that process was conducted unlawfully. The concern is that the same approach is being applied here, with consequences that would be just as serious for the millions of Americans whose access to preventive care depends on the Task Force's independence and credibility.
AcademyHealth has spent the past year working to protect the Task Force, leading a coalition of more than 100 organizations, engaging with Congress, and keeping national attention on an institution whose work touches every American. We remain committed to finding a path that preserves the Task Force's scientific independence while allowing its critical work to resume.
The Task Force's credibility rests on a transparent, evidence-based process that has operated across administrations of both parties for four decades. HHS should reinstate the chairs and ensure independent review of applications before Saturday's deadline. Congress should seek answers now. There is still time to get this right.