DFA Urges Congress to Protect the Independence of USPSTF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Doctors for America PO Box: 21161 2300 18th St NW Lbby Washington, DC 20009-9996 July 16, 2025 Doctors for America Urges Congress to Protect the Independence of The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is a vital team composed of national experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine. This task force works to improve the health of people nationwide by making evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services. This is science translated into clinical practice. The USPSTF creates recommendations regarding screening and prevention of diseases, including screening for cancer and infectious diseases, based on the latest research and epidemiology. The task force uses rigorous quality research data to rate the evidence behind each recommendation. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover recommendations with an “A” or “B” rating without cost-sharing, ensuring patients are able to receive age-appropriate cancer screening and other important preventive health services. Without this requirement, patients will face more barriers – including cost – in accessing preventive healthcare, which can catch diseases and cancers at early and treatable stages. Doctors for America is deeply alarmed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s recent decision to cancel the July USPSTF meeting. This meeting was planned to discuss cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of disability and death in America. This abrupt cancellation, in addition to other cuts to public health services and interference in expert advisory panels, raises concerns for the future funding and support of this critical Task Force. The recent Supreme Court decision on Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc upheld the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that health insurers cover preventive care services recommended by the USPSTF at no cost-sharing to patients. However, while affirming the authority of the Health and Human Services Secretary to appoint members, it also gave the Secretary the authority to fire USPSTF members at will. This raises concerns that Secretary Kennedy will interfere with the independent expert work of the Task Force to provide guidance on screening and disease prevention, similar to how he has dismantled the transparent and independent evidence-based guidance of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) by replacing all committee members. The insurance protections for preventive services recommended by USPSTF have direct ramifications on the ability of patients to pay for preventive care such as colonoscopies, mammograms, vaccines, etc. A lack of access to these services due to financial barriers would lead to later detection of diseases such as cancer, which carry an increased risk of mortality when they are found at later and more advanced stages. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Preventive services are foundational to making America healthy. Doctors for America urges Congress and Secretary Kennedy to protect the independence and integrity of the USPSTF and to ensure that science and medical expertise, not political ideology, guide the appointment and retention of USPSTF experts who will promote evidence-based recommendations. We urge him to promptly reschedule the canceled meeting and to support preventive medicine. ### About Doctors for America: