RFK Jr. fires USPSTF vice chairs, drawing sharp rebuke from AMA

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has dismissed two vice chairs of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the influential panel whose evidence-based recommendations determine which preventive screenings and services must be covered at no cost under the Affordable Care Act — a move that physicians' organizations say threatens the independence of a critical pillar of American preventive care.

Vice chairs John Wong, M.D., MACP, and Esa Davis, M.D., M.P.H., were dismissed effective May 11, according to letters obtained by The New York Times.

The American Medical Association wasted no time in condemning the action.

"The AMA is extremely concerned by today's HHS decision to remove the vice-chairs of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force," Bobby Mukkamala, M.D., AMA president, said in a statement. "The task force serves an essential, non-partisan role in making evidence-based recommendations on clinical preventive services and screenings that physicians rely on to prevent disease.

He continued, "Today's changes were foreshadowed by the earlier dismantling of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. We strongly urge HHS to restore the USPSTF's long-standing, transparent process for selecting members, specifically clinicians with expertise in the fields of preventive medicine and primary care. We also implore HHS to commit to once again holding regular Task Force meetings to ensure its important work can continue without further delay. Our patients' lives depend on it."

Why USPSTF matters to physicians

The USPSTF is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine.

Under the Affordable Care Act, commercial health plans and Medicaid expansion programs are mandated to fully cover preventive services receiving an "A" or "B" grade from the task force, without patient cost-sharing.

The panel's guidelines dictate free access to screenings, including mammograms, colonoscopies, and depression evaluations, meaning leadership changes directly affect the care millions of Americans can afford and how payers structure benefits.

How HHS framed the firings

In the termination letters, Kennedy noted that he had directed a review of USPSTF appointments to ensure clarity, continuity, and confidence in HHS's supervisory responsibilities and to protect the integrity of the task force's work. He stated the immediate dismissals were intended to avoid uncertainty that could jeopardize the validity of future task force actions. The letters noted that the terminations were unrelated to performance, and both physicians are free to reapply.

Kennedy's authority to make these changes was unsettled until June 2025, when the Supreme Court issued a landmark 6-3 decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. The court ruled that USPSTF members are "inferior officers" whose appointments by the HHS secretary are constitutional under the Appointments Clause, directly validating the administration's authority over the panel.

In a follow-up email, Wong and Davis noted they still had months remaining on their terms — 10 for Wong, 22 for Davis — and questioned whether the Braidwood decision authorized Kennedy to retroactively invalidate appointments made by a prior HHS secretary, according to The Hill.

A pattern of disruption

The leadership shakeup follows a series of administrative disruptions Kennedy has orchestrated over the past year. He indefinitely postponed the panel's last three scheduled meetings and failed to replace members whose terms expired in December 2025. He has also labeled the task force's past work "lackadaisical and negligent."

The operational standstill has already affected clinical output. The committee issued fewer recommendations last year and failed to publish its legally mandated annual report to Congress detailing critical gaps in scientific evidence — a report federal agencies rely on to allocate health care research funding.

Kennedy is currently seeking nominations for the panel, with new members expected to begin serving in July. In a Federal Register notice in April, HHS encouraged specialists such as anesthesiologists, cardiologists and oncologists to apply — a departure from the task force's traditional makeup of primary care physicians and preventive medicine specialists.

AcademyHealth warned that bypassing established, nonpartisan appointment frameworks threatens to erode public and provider trust in federally vetted medical guidance, leaving payers and health systems facing prolonged operational instability. Aaron Carroll, M.D., MS, president of AcademyHealth, said Kennedy is "tampering with the critical infrastructure" necessary for Americans to trust government health care systems.