RFK Jr. Plan to Replace U.S. Health Task Force Risks Rolling Back Early Detection Guidelines for Black and Marginalized Communities

A routine screening saved one woman’s life. After a former smoker went in for a check-up, her doctor ordered a scan based on guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. It revealed a 6-centimeter lung mass—cancer caught just in time for effective treatment. But public health experts fear that stories like hers may become rarer if Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moves forward with plans to replace the task force’s 16 members.

The Preventive Services Task Force has spent the last four decades crafting evidence-based recommendations for early disease detection, guiding primary care providers and insurers alike. Their work has led to earlier diagnoses of cancers, postpartum depression, and more. Critics now worry RFK Jr.’s push to dismiss the panel for political reasons would put millions of lives at risk—particularly those from marginalized communities.

“This would be a disaster for public health,” said one medical provider, who credits the task force with catching her patient’s cancer before it became terminal. “Without the task force guidelines, her cancer may not have been caught.”

The concern is especially urgent for Black patients, women, and people of color—groups already facing significant health disparities due to limited access, systemic bias, and underdiagnosis. Preventive screenings have helped narrow those gaps. For example, Black women are more likely to die from cervical and breast cancer than white women, yet guidelines from the task force push for early screenings that could save lives. If these guidelines become politicized or gutted, communities already underserved by the medical system could lose vital tools for survival.

The threat isn’t hypothetical. In June, Kennedy removed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with vaccine skeptics. Public health officials say the move has already undermined trust in institutions and coincides with a record spike in measles cases.

RFK Jr. reportedly considers the task force’s inclusive language—like using “pregnant persons”—as overly political. Critics call this framing a dangerous distraction. “What is woke in that?” the doctor asked. “These are important recommendations meant to reach all Americans.”

Advocates are now urging swift action to protect the task force and the communities that rely on it. “Taking these actions will not make America healthy again,” the doctor warned. “It’ll make America backward again.”

Link: USA Today