Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has named eight new members to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the volunteer panel whose recommendations determine which screenings and preventive medications most private insurers must cover at no cost. The appointments, announced Sept. 17, bring the panel back to 16 members.
What the announcement did not include was a meeting date. The task force has not met in more than a year, and HHS declined to tell Reuters when the reconstituted panel will convene.
For households, the stakes sit in everyday care. Task force recommendations are the reason many insured Americans pay nothing for screening colonoscopies, mammograms and HIV prevention drugs. A panel that does not meet cannot update those recommendations, add new ones, or respond to new evidence.
Five Specialists, a Health Economist and Two Primary Care Doctors
According to the HHS announcement, the new chair is Dr. Seth J. Corey, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Cleveland Clinic and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The other seven appointees are Dr. Patrick Hunter, a pediatrician at Pensacola Pediatrics in Florida; Dr. Ronald Karlsberg, a cardiologist and clinical professor at Cedars-Sinai's Smidt Heart Institute and UCLA; Dr. Venkatesh Murthy, a professor of preventive cardiology; Stephen Parente, a health finance expert; Dr. Goldie Stands-Over-Bull, the lead family medicine physician at Texas Native Health; Dr. Louis Wilson, a gastroenterologist; and Dr. Dennis Wulfeck, a diagnostic radiologist.
They join eight members appointed under the previous administration who remain on the panel. Five of the new appointees are specialists, a major departure from the past, when the panel was built around generalist clinicians, STAT reported.
"Americans deserve recommendations grounded in rigorous, objective science," Kennedy said in the announcement. "We are strengthening the Task Force to ensure it asks hard questions, follows the evidence wherever it leads, and maintains the highest standards of scientific integrity."
More Than a Year Without Meetings
The panel has been largely idle during Kennedy's tenure. A meeting planned for July 2025 was abruptly canceled, a November meeting did not take place during the government shutdown, and a March meeting was postponed, Reuters reported. In letters dated May 11, Kennedy fired the panel's two vice chairs, Dr. John Wong and Dr. Esa Davis, according to STAT. The previous chair, Dr. Michael Silverstein, left the role on his own, and five other members' terms expired at the start of 2026 without replacements.
The support system behind the panel has also shrunk. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which runs the task force's evidence reviews, has lost a large share of its staff and canceled more than 150 research grants, the research association AcademyHealth said.
"Putting people back in the chairs doesn't rebuild the evidence system they need to do their job," Dr. Aaron Carroll, AcademyHealth's chief executive, told Reuters.
Kennedy's authority over the panel traces to the Supreme Court's June 2025 ruling in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, which upheld the task force's role under the Affordable Care Act while confirming that it operates under the health secretary's authority.
Free Preventive Care Rules Stay in Place for Now
Nothing in the appointments changes current coverage. Recommendations already graded A or B by the task force remain in effect, and plans covered by the Affordable Care Act must still provide those services without cost sharing when patients use in-network providers.
That includes colorectal cancer screening beginning at 45, mammograms every other year starting at 40, and PrEP medication for people at higher risk of HIV. Patients should not delay a scheduled screening because of news about the panel.
The larger uncertainty is future coverage. The task force website is the official record of current recommendations, and any change to a grade would shape what millions of plans must cover. Because the Braidwood ruling places the panel under the secretary's authority, new recommendations could also face review by the secretary.
Patients who receive an unexpected bill for a preventive service can ask their insurer whether the visit was coded as preventive or diagnostic. Follow-up tests after an abnormal screening result may be billed differently, and those rules vary by plan.
Doctors' Groups Question the Shift Away from Primary Care
The makeup of the new slate drew immediate pushback. Historically, the task force called in specialists to consult on topics in their field rather than seating them as voting members, in part to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
"We believe maintaining a strong primary care voice must remain central to its work," Dr. Willie Underwood III, president of the American Medical Association, said in a statement reported by Fierce Healthcare. AcademyHealth called the appointments a positive step after a 17-month hiatus but called for more transparency about how members were chosen, vetted, and screened for conflicts of interest.
Kennedy has defended the choices. In an opinion piece published by Fox News on Sept. 17, he argued that "preventive medicine does not stop at the boundaries of any one discipline," STAT reported.
The next milestones are concrete. HHS has not announced when the panel will convene, which topics it will take up first, or whether pending draft recommendations will move forward. MedicalDaily will track the task force's meeting calendar, its public comment postings and any changes to existing screening grades.
Key Questions Answered
What happened? On Sept. 17, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed eight new members to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and named pediatric hematologist-oncologist Dr. Seth Corey as chair.
Why does this panel matter to my wallet? Under the Affordable Care Act, most private plans must cover services the task force grades A or B without cost sharing, including many cancer screenings and HIV prevention drugs.
When will the panel meet? No date has been announced. The task force has not met in more than a year.
Will my free screenings stop? No. Existing A and B recommendations remain in effect, and nothing in the appointments changes current coverage.
Why are doctors' groups concerned? Five of the eight appointees are specialists, and one is a health finance expert, a departure from the panel's traditional primary care makeup. The American Medical Association said a strong primary care voice must remain central.
Can the secretary overrule the panel? The Supreme Court's 2025 Braidwood ruling confirmed that the task force operates under the health secretary's authority, which gives the secretary power over appointments and review.
What should patients do now? Keep scheduled screenings, confirm preventive visits are billed as preventive, and ask your insurer about any unexpected charges.
