Kennedy names new members to Preventive Services Task Force, after months of vacancies

WASHINGTON — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday named eight new members to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential panel of experts who assess the evidence behind a wide array of preventive medical services. They include a number of specialists, including in clinical nutrition, gastroenterology, and oncology, as well as a finance professor who has expertise in health insurance. It’s a major departure from the past, when the panel was made up of generalists, as opposed to specialists, to avoid prioritizing one area of medicine over another. The independent body has more than advisory power because its assessments help determine whether health insurance companies are required to cover preventive services, such as mammograms and drugs to help prevent HIV. The newly appointed chair, Seth Corey, works in pediatric hematology-oncology at the Cleveland Clinic. He replaces Michael Silverstein, who departed from his role last year. Kennedy has been critical of the 16-person group, which has been left with at least eight vacancies this year after five members rolled off at the end of their terms and the previous chair, Silverstein, departed on his own. Two members — vice chairs John Wong and Esa Davis — were fired in letters sent to them by Kennedy on May 11. The letters, viewed by STAT, said they were terminated due to a review of the current appointments. The panel hasn’t met in more than a year, after its meetings were canceled by Kennedy. The most recent news on the USPSTF website dates back to August 2025. The group had previously signaled it was working on recommendations related to breast cancer genetic screening, pediatric autism disorder screening, and cervical cancer screening, among others. Last year Kennedy said he planned to remove panel members, viewing them as too “woke,” but no new members had been named until now. His ability to remove members may be traced to a Supreme Court ruling issued in 2025, in the case Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, which established that the expert task force is under the authority of the health secretary. The new members are: Seth Corey, the chair, and a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Cleveland Clinic. Patrick Hunter, a pediatrician at Pensacola Pediatrics in Florida. Ronald Karlsberg, a cardiologist who is a clinical professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles. Venkatesh Murthy, a professor of preventive cardiology at the University of Michigan. Stephen T. Parente, a finance professor at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Goldie Stands-Over-Bull, a family medicine physician at Texas Native Health. Louis Wilson, a gastroenterologist at Wichita Falls Gastroenterology Associates in Texas. Dennis Wulfeck, a diagnostic radiologist at RadPartners MBB Radiology in Florida. This is a breaking story and will be updated.