Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled a scheduled meeting of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which is a powerful panel made up of medical experts who play a major role in determining which preventive services — including HIV prevention medication — should be covered by insurance at no cost.
Members of the task force were told by email on July 7 that the scheduled meeting for July 11 was postponed, according to the New York Times, though members were not given a reason for the postponement. The task force meets three times per year.
The meeting’s cancellation immediately raised questions about the future of the task force, which was featured in a Supreme Court ruling last month that upheld a provision of the Affordable Care Act that effectively empowered the task force to continue its role in determining preventive care coverage. The case had significant implications for HIV/AIDS because the same task force was the one that made a determination that HIV prevention medication should be covered by insurance. In 2023, the task force gave an “A” rating to injectable PrEP (providers must cover drugs given “A” or “B” rating.)
The Supreme Court ruling was viewed with relief among those who were afraid of jeopardizing the coverage of preventive services, but a joint statement issued by Lambda Legal, Equality Federation, PrEP4All, the Center for HIV Law and Policy, and the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation warned that the ruling would also give the HHS secretary more “tools to exert significant control over what have historically been independent, science-driven health recommendations.” The groups added that Kennedy’s “expanded grip on the USPSTF could open the door to abuses, enabling administrations to sideline medical experts, shape recommendations to match political agendas, and jeopardize evidence-based healthcare for millions of Americans.”
Kennedy has repeatedly expressed blatantly false and outlandish theories about HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ identity, vaccines, and more. He has made false claims stating that vaccines cause autism and wrongly suggested that “there’s plenty of evidence” that HIV originated from a vaccine program. He has incorrectly suggested that pesticides can change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. He said “a lot of people” say HIV is “not a virus,” but rather “environmental” and “part of the gay lifestyle.”
