5 key health topics worth watching

On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to appear before the Senate Finance Committee for the first of two hearings to confirm President Donald Trump. Nominee for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services,

If confirmed, Kennedy will have broad control over a group of 18 agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“This is the most important hearing of all of Trump’s Cabinet selections,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. “The HHS secretary has enormous power over domestic health care, global health, and directly supervises thousands of scientists, doctors, and nurses.”

The hearing is expected to be controversial due to his controversial views, including Kennedy’s repeated False claims linking vaccines to autism – a theory that has been refuted by decades of scientific research.

In a financial disclosure on TuesdayKennedy said that, as of December, he is no longer serving as president or chief legal counsel of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine nonprofit he founded. The group has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, including challenging the authorization of the Covid vaccine for children.

Kennedy will continue to collect fees Ongoing lawsuit against GardasilA Merck’s vaccine that protects against HPVAccording to the disclosure. hpv vaccine prevents cervical And other cancersIn a statement to NBC News, Merck said in part, “Plaintiffs’ allegations have no merit, and we are committed to vigorously defending against these claims.”

A spokesman for Kennedy declined to comment.

Wednesday’s hearing will be followed by a hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Thursday.

Here are five key health topics to watch during the Kennedy hearings.

vaccines

Kennedy’s nomination to lead HHS comes at a time when childhood vaccination rates are falling. According to KFFLess than 93% of kindergartners had received all of their state-required vaccines in the 2023-2024 school year, compared with 95% in the 2019-2020 school year, according to the Healthline, a nonprofit group that researches health policy issues. .

Parents are more hesitant than ever to vaccinate their children, Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said Tuesday during a roundtable on vaccines hosted by Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

“The problem is not only that we have largely eliminated these diseases, we have also eliminated the memory of these diseases,” Offit said, “and because of that, parents are no longer concerned about the safety of vaccines.” are more feared, whether real or imagined, than the diseases they prevent.”

At the roundtable, Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate Assistance Committee, noted the “danger” of reversing decades of progress on public health. ​He has not yet said publicly whether he will support Kennedy’s nomination.

Kennedy has a long history anti-vaccine activismExperts worry that this could mean significant changes in childhood vaccination policies.

As Health Secretary, Kennedy would have influence over the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, An independent group of health experts that helps the agency make recommendations to states and insurers about which vaccines should be covered, including childhood vaccinations.

senators said that they have spoke With Kennedy about vaccines, highlight the importance of the topicImmediately after the election, Kennedy told NBC News that he would “notTake away vaccines from anyone.,

“Let us be clear, there is overwhelming consensus in the scientific community that vaccines have saved millions of lives, prevented massive human suffering and stopped the spread of infectious diseases like polio, smallpox and measles,” Sanders said. Is.”

Public health advocacy groups, including the Committee to Protect Health Care, expressed concern about Kennedy’s views on the subject. Earlier this month, the committee posted a letter onlineSigned by more than 15,000 doctors, senators were urged to vote against his confirmation.

Obamacare

“While there will probably be a lot of attention on vaccines, the potential for RFK Jr. to impact people’s health insurance coverage in some ways is much greater,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy at KFF.

In addition to Medicare and Medicaid, HHS, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, oversees implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Combined, the three programs provide insurance to about 168 million people — more than half the U.S. population, Levitt said. The department also conducts outreach, ensuring people are informed about their insurance options and providing funding to states to improve their insurance coverage, especially for the uninsured.

Republicans have indicated support for eliminating subsidies that make Obamacare premiums more affordable, and they have also expressed interest in imposing work requirements for Medicaid eligibility – a unpopular provisionsDr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, previously Expressed support for privatization of Medicare,

trump Vows to replace ACA during campaignBut Kennedy has provided little information on his views on the program or insurance generally.

“What does he think about Medicaid work requirements? Affordable Care Act? “Increased financial assistance?” Levitt asked. “He oversees an agency that affects all of those things.”

bird flu

Kennedy may take the reins as the H5N1 bird flu virus continues to spread across the country.

As of January 16, an estimated 928 herds of dairy cattle have been infected in 16 states, According to the Agriculture Department. have been at least 67 cases in peopleMost of whom are farm labourers. An elderly man in Louisiana who had a flock in his backyard died of the virus.

Experts are concerned that if bird flu mutates and starts spreading easily between people, it has the potential to lead to another pandemic. There have been no documented cases of human-to-human transmission of bird flu in the United States so far.

“This is a disease we need to take very seriously, and leaving it up to a vaccine skeptic to lead the response is dangerous,” said Gostin of Georgetown University.

Kennedy will oversee CDC, which has managed most of the outbreak and tracked the risk to humans, as well as the Strategic Preparedness and Response Administration, an HHS agency responsible for managing the nation’s stockpile of flu vaccines, including Currently two bird flu are included. Vaccine candidates. He would have authority over the FDA, which would need to authorize vaccines before they can be used on people.

In December, Biden administration officials said they had no plans Authorize stockpiled bird flu vaccinesIt has been left up to health officials in the Trump administration, possibly including Kennedy, to decide whether they will be required.

“This concerns me greatly, because I don’t think RFK Jr. will accelerate the delivery of avian influenza vaccine to where it is needed,” Gostin said.

food guidelines

Kennedy has made it a priority to advocate for safe food, and has vowed to ban additives and dyes linked to health problems.

Experts say this is something lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will support Kennedy on. (Earlier this month, the FDA, under the Biden administration, raid number 3 bannedAn artificial dye that is used in thousands of foods but has been linked to cancer in laboratory rats.)

Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said where Kennedy might be questioned is on development. 2025 dietary guidelines for Americans – If Republicans in Congress are willing to pressure him on it.

Nestle said, “You might think Republicans would be concerned about the effects of his proposed actions on the food, fishing and dairy industries, but they’re willing to go along with whatever Trump wants.”

The dietary guidelines, which HHS is responsible for overseeing along with the Department of Agriculture, will remain in place for the next five years.

Last month, a Committee issued proposalRecommending that people eat more beans, peas and pulses as protein sources and reduce consumption of processed and red meat.

Kennedy could decide whether to adopt some or all of the recommendations.

Gostin also said he hopes lawmakers will press Kennedy on what he is going to do to advance the food industry.

“He talks a good game in terms of nutrition,” Gostin said, “but what are his plans really?”

weight loss drugs

In November, the Biden administration proposed a rule Medicare and Medicaid are required to offer coverage of medications for weight loss—a move that would dramatically expand access to the medications. Currently, they are only covered for diabetes, heart disease risk and sleep apnea. A two-decade-old rule prevents programs from covering drugs for weight loss.

However, Stacy Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said the rule would need to be finalized under the Trump administration.

“I think this is an important and consequential policy action that will impact many people and substantially affect spending on Medicare and Medicaid,” he said.

Significant government spending on Ozempic and Vegovy earned them a spot in this year’s Medicare drug pricing negotiations – another matter on which Kennedy has remained silent.

Kennedy has been critical of extremely popular weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Vegovy. Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld Said in October that companies are “relying on selling it to Americans because we are so stupid and addicted to drugs.”

It appears he later walked back those statements: Speaking to CNBC in December, Kennedy said, “The first line of response should be lifestyle, it should be eating well, making sure you don’t lose weight.” Should not be there, and those GLP medicines should be in place.”

“My casual assumption is that he’s the guy doing diet and exercise and cleaning out the food supply,” Dusetzina said. “That will be something I try to keep an eye on.”