HHS names eight new U.S. Preventive Services Task Force members under Kennedy overhaul

Eight new appointments to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are in focus after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., acting through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, announced a restructuring of the body whose A and B recommendations generally require private health plans to cover preventive services without patient cost-sharing under federal law. Dr. Seth Corey, who brings 41 years of experience in pediatric oncology and blood disorders, will chair the reconstituted Task Force. Kennedy said the move reflects a decision to reform rather than wholesale replace the existing membership, with eight Biden-era appointees continuing to serve.

The incoming eight members span pediatrics, oncology, cardiology, radiology, gastroenterology, family medicine, health economics, and clinical research. Dr. Patrick Hunter has practiced pediatrics for 34 years, including work implementing clinical guidelines in rural communities. Dr. Ronald Karlsberg contributes 48 years in cardiovascular care. Dr. Venkatesh Murthy adds expertise in preventive cardiology, medical imaging, and artificial intelligence. Dr. Goldie Stands-Over-Bull practices family medicine for Native American patients across the lifespan. Dr. Louis Wilson brings nearly three decades in gastroenterology, hepatology, and clinical nutrition. Dr. Dennis Wulfeck has practiced diagnostic radiology for 33 years. Dr. Stephen Parente rounds out the slate with three decades of health policy and health care delivery research.

Coverage consequences and the independence question

Under federal law, Task Force recommendations that earn an A or B grade generally require private health plans to cover the relevant preventive service at no cost to patients, giving the membership composition direct consequences for insurer coverage obligations. Kennedy said the restructuring aims to add specialized clinical depth to a body that has traditionally drawn from primary care, preventive medicine, and evidence evaluation specialists. His argument is that cardiologists, radiologists, gastroenterologists, and pediatricians bring frontline patient experience to evidence review in ways that sharpen the quality of recommendations reaching doctors and patients.

Kennedy framed the effort as a response to what he called America's chronic disease crisis, arguing that prevention and early detection require stronger clinical underpinning than the Task Force has historically received. He said the Task Force's independence should accommodate rigorous scientific debate rather than shield its processes from it. HHS, he said, will not direct the Task Force's conclusions, and the body will remain free to evaluate screenings, counseling, preventive medications, and other clinical preventive services.

The setup to watch is whether the broader clinical makeup shifts the evidence weighting in areas like cancer detection, cardiovascular screening, and medical imaging, where several of the incoming members have spent the bulk of their careers. Kennedy said the reconstituted Task Force will follow the evidence wherever it leads and weigh benefits against harms, applying what he called the highest standards of scientific integrity to every recommendation.