Doctors on key US health panel impacting coverage rates accused of being too ‘woke’

An “independent” advisory panel of nonfederal experts who determine which preventive health services insurers should cover has been accused of working with doctors who tend to prioritize “woke” leftist ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion over evidence-based science in their work.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a four-year, all-volunteer panel of physicians appointed by the Surgeon General, consists of preventive medicine experts whose services include services such as screening tests, vaccines, behavioral counseling, and medications that can prevent the development or worsening of health conditions. One of the task force’s primary functions is to weigh the effectiveness and cost-benefit of such preventive maintenance services; These recommendations are then used to shape the preventive care services that insurance providers should cover.

The task force’s ability to make these health care recommendations, combined with a membership largely composed of left-wing DEI supporters, has raised concerns about how the task force could affect health care.

The Wall Street Journal reported in July that sources with knowledge of Surgeon General Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s thinking said he planned to fire all 16 members of the USPSTF for being too “woke.”

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“HHS was made aware of ideological issues raised with USPSTF members by letters from Senate Republicans. GOP Doctors Caucusand a broad range of physicians, including the American College of Physicians and Surgeons, America’s Frontline Physicians, and the Pennsylvania Direct Primary Care Association. “HHS is disturbed by these allegations and is investigating further,” Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Emily Hilliard told Fox News Digital when asked about Kennedy’s plans for the future of the current USPSTF. he said.

Meanwhile, others, including prominent physician groups including the GOP Physicians Caucus and the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, have also raised alarm bells about possible left-wing bias at the USPSTF. One group ringing alarm bells about the USPSTF is the conservative watchdog group known as the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), which has released a new report claiming that the USPSTF has been “completely hijacked by left-wing partisans to weaponize science to spread leftist ideology.”

The AAF report is based on the task force’s current chairman, Dr. points out Michael Silverstein; He said in 2023 that the USPSTF was “committed to addressing critical issues related to health equity” after he was reassigned to the task force’s leadership team under the Biden administration. As Vice Chair of the task force in 2023, Silverstein co-authored the following article: Annual report to Congress It highlights a new partnership with the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), which aims to help the task force be more “inclusive.”

The goal of the partnership was to help develop “new recommendations for screening for anxiety disorders and other conditions affecting LGBTQ+ communities to improve patients’ health, wellness, and quality of life,” according to the report to Congress.

Other recommendations from the USPSTF that have emerged over the past few years include 2022 recommendation This means doctors should consider race when screening for anxiety in children and adolescents. a newer one recommendation, The report, released in April, said doctors should pay special attention to breastfeeding by Black mothers because of the “lasting psychological impact and stigma of enslaved Black women being forced to act as wet nurses.”

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Denver, CO – APRIL 25: Medical doctor Alia Broman, right, examines a 6-year-old patient at Denver Health on Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (Hyoung Chang/Denver Post))

Meanwhile a 2021 report The USPSTF’s report on addressing sex and gender in making preventive health care recommendations included an analysis of how sex-specific terminology, as opposed to “gender-neutral” terminology, can play a role in meeting the needs of “diverse populations.” Think “pregnant people” vs. “pregnant mother”; this is a change that eventually became part of the task force’s official guidelines.

“To improve its methods, the USPSTF reviewed its past recommendations involving the use of sex and gender terms, reviewed the approaches of other guideline-generating agencies, and pilot-tested strategies to address sex and gender diversity,” the report stated. “Based on the findings, the USPSTF intends to use an inclusive approach to identify sex- and gender-related issues at the beginning of the guideline development process; evaluate applicability, variability, and quality of evidence as a function of sex and gender; ensure clarity in the use of sex- and gender-related language; and identify sex- and gender-related evidence gaps.”

Another major accomplishment for the task force’s mission to advance “health equity” was the publication of the 2024 report. “Health Equality Framework” It aimed to incorporate gender theory and other left-wing ideologies into its operations.

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In addition to the work the task force does, its members also have a history of publishing extensive research focused on “health equity” and other DEI components, such as how race affects certain health outcomes or how to address sex and gender when making recommendations for clinical preventive services.

“National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention Workshop: Achieving Health Equity in Preventive Services,” task force rank-and-file member Dr. It is the title of a scientific research report co-authored by Sandra Millon Underwood. “Greater Incorporation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Medical Education Research” and “Health Equity Begins with Us: Recommendations from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Racial Justice and Health Equity Task Force” are also reports co-authored by USPSTF members.

USPSTF rank-and-file member Dr. “Anti-racism initiatives, such as incorporating community support providers (e.g., lay doulas) into maternity care for Black people, can reduce disparities in outcomes by addressing both interpersonal racism and the lack of workforce diversity caused by structural racism,” said a research paper co-authored by Alicia Fernandez, published in May 2024.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has been accused of being infiltrated by “woke” leftists, while sources familiar with Heath Secretary Robert F. Kennedy say he plans to fire all 16 of the leftists. (iStock; Getty Images)

Members of the so-called “independent” USPSTF have also used their positions of expertise to combat Trump administration priorities such as abortion and research funding reforms.

For example, another task force member, Dr. David Chelmow has appeared in several American Civil Liberties Union memos supported by doctors regarding efforts to oppose the Trump administration; one was to challenge Trump’s efforts to impose more protections around the mail-order abortion drug called mifepristone; many pro-life OBGYNs warn that it is dangerous if not administered in person. In March, another task force member, Dr. Carlos Roberto Jaen, along with 1,900 others, signed a letter accusing the Trump administration of weakening US research capacity and endangering Americans.

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The USPSTF assigns a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or I when making recommendations for preventive care services.

Any service given an “A” or “B” rating must be covered by private insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These ratings also depend on the coverage requirements of public insurance companies such as Medicare and Medicaid.

In 2019, the task force gave an “A” grade to the preventive anti-HIV drug, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), for which guidelines were later announced in 2023. The current Vice Chairman of the task force, Dr. John Wong also co-authored a 2017 paper on how increasing PrEP use could help reduce HIV prevalence among gay men. But according to the AAF, the active promotion of PrEP creates an atmosphere of dangerous sexual activity that poses a public health hazard because the foundation says it encourages risky sexual behavior. Additionally, at least one Christian-owned business argued that forcing insurance providers to cover drugs that encourage risky sexual behavior violated their rights.

Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court weighed in on whether the USPSTF’s authority to require preventive health care coverage to be graded “A” or “B” was unconstitutional. The group that filed the lawsuit, Braidwood Management Inc., initially objected on religious grounds to the ACA’s requirement that insurance providers cover certain HIV prevention drugs for which the working group gave an “A” recommendation, specifically PrEP. However, the case was ultimately based on the legitimacy of the USPSTF’s advisory authority and the Constitution’s II. It turned into an issue as to whether the provision of the article allowed it or not.

This photo shows the facade of the Supreme Court building at dusk. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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Both the Biden and Trump administrations have embraced the argument that the Surgeon General has ultimate control over appointing or removing USPSTF members. The Trump administration also argued in briefs filed with the Supreme Court that the Secretary has the authority to block or rescind task force recommendations, according to SCOUTS Blog.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favor of the federal government’s argument that the USPSTF appointment process, and thus its legitimacy, did not violate the Constitution.

Shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision in the Braidwood case, Surgeon General Kennedy reportedly postponed a long-planned task force meeting of the USPSTF; This was the same move he made before firing every member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the main federal agency that helps create federal vaccine policy. Kennedy has long been critical of traditional vaccine policies and practices.

The Wall Street Journal reported in July, shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision in the Braidwood case, that sources familiar with Kennedy’s thinking said he planned to remove 16 members of the USPSTF for being too “woke.”