Kennedy names eight new members, mostly specialists, to US Preventive Services Task Force

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on September 17, 2026, appointed eight new members to the US Preventive Services Task Force, the independent panel whose recommendations determine which screenings private insurers must cover at no cost to patients. The appointments bring the panel to 16 members, but no meeting date has been announced, according to Medical Daily.

STAT reported that the task force has not met in more than a year after Kennedy canceled meetings.

Who was appointed

Seth J. Corey, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Cleveland Clinic, will serve as chair, Medical Economics reported. The other new members are:

  • Patrick K. Hunter, a pediatrician at Pensacola Pediatrics and assistant clinical professor at Florida State University
  • Ronald P. Karlsberg, clinical professor of medicine at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
  • Venkatesh L. Murthy, professor of preventive cardiology at the University of Michigan
  • Stephen T. Parente, who holds the Minnesota Insurance Industry Chair of Health Finance at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management
  • Goldie Stands-Over-Bull, lead family medicine physician at Texas Native Health
  • Louis J. Wilson, an internist specializing in gastroenterology, hepatology and clinical nutrition in Wichita Falls, Texas
  • Dennis W. Wulfeck, a diagnostic radiologist

STAT reported that the appointees include five medical specialists, in fields including gastroenterology, oncology, cardiology and radiology, along with a finance professor with health insurance expertise. Eight members appointed under the Biden administration remain on the panel.

What Kennedy said

"Americans deserve recommendations grounded in rigorous, objective science. We are strengthening the Task Force to ensure it asks hard questions, follows the evidence wherever it leads, and maintains the highest standards of scientific integrity," Kennedy said, according to Medical Daily.

In a Fox News op-ed cited by STAT, Kennedy wrote: "Preventive medicine does not stop at the boundaries of any one discipline. It encompasses cancer detection, cardiovascular disease, medical imaging, pediatric care, diagnostic technologies, chronic disease, and other areas where specialized clinical knowledge can sharpen the evaluation of evidence."

Concerns from medical groups

The American Medical Association raised concerns about the shift away from primary care. AMA President Willie Underwood III said: "Its credibility has been built on a membership grounded in prevention and primary care," according to Medical Economics. He also said: "We believe maintaining a strong primary care voice must remain central to its work," Medical Daily reported.

Aaron Carroll, chief executive of AcademyHealth, told Medical Daily: "Putting people back in the chairs doesn't rebuild the evidence system they need to do their job."

STAT reported that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which supports the task force, shrank from nearly 300 employees in 2024 to 84 in 2026 after cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency. It also reported that a 2025 Supreme Court ruling, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, established that the task force falls under the health secretary's authority.

Why it matters

Under the Affordable Care Act, the task force's recommendations decide which preventive services, such as colonoscopies, mammograms and HIV prevention drugs, private insurers must cover at no cost, Medical Daily reported. Changes to who sits on the panel, and when it resumes meeting, could shape those recommendations.

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.