Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "make America healthy again" motto is meant to convey that he is sincerely interested in helping Americans avoid getting sick in the first place. During his Senate confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, all Kennedy and his newfound Republican supporters could talk about was how in love he is with "prevention." "We should be moving to value-based care, which includes prevention," Kennedy confidently declared. The committee chair, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, described Kennedy as "passionate" about "preventing and managing chronic disease, improving health outcomes, and reducing health costs."
It should have always been self-evident that Kennedy is not pro-prevention, since he built his career as a vaccine denialist. Yet much of the press seems to have been snookered. So it's especially noteworthy that Kennedy kicked off his new role with a broad attack on drugs people use to prevent depression, diabetes, and other such conditions.
