William Walters, Associate in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Inside Health Policy, in “Some Experts Anticipate PrEP, Other Previous USPSTF Recommendations Could See Age Limits,” by Luke Zarzecki. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Past USPSTF recommendations, like preexposure prophylaxis for HIV (PrEP), could be at risk after the Supreme Court affirmed the HHS secretary has authority to fire the task force members and meddle in recommendations, potentially adding age limits to older recommendations, experts say. …
Now, USPSTF could be changed by the administration.
"...we have seen the wholesale politicization of the ACIP, the committee tasked with offering recommendations for vaccines. I would say the Task Force is likely to be politicized whether or not Secretary Kennedy replaces members. The Secretary's focus on "Gold Standard Science" seems rooted in politically-based evidence making, rather than evidence-based policymaking," William Walters, a health associate with law firm Epstein Becker & Green, told Inside Health Policy in a statement.
Walters said past recommendations made by USPSTF, such as PrEP, cancer screenings, statins and more, are at risk but probably not to the same extent as recommendations from ACIP with Kennedy more focused on vaccines than preventive screenings so far in his tenure.
Still, changes could come in accordance with the Make America Healthy Again movement.
"If he were to follow precedent, Secretary Kennedy could propose preventive services and screenings for the Task Force to review. This would certainly support an agenda focused on prevention. But having followed the Secretary's actions, it is possible he dismisses Task Force members and nominates new members from within the MAHA movement who help to advance anti-science viewpoints," Walters said.
