US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed the top leadership of a significant medical panel that determines which preventive healthcare services must be offered to patients without charge, according to documents obtained by Reuters.
The dismissals affected the chair and vice chair of the Preventive Services Task Force, which occurred earlier this month. Dr. John Wong, a medicine professor at Tufts University School of Medicine who served as chair, and Dr. Esa Davis, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who was vice chair, were both terminated from their positions.
The influential panel, which normally operates with 16 members, has not convened for more than a year following Kennedy’s decision to suspend its routine meetings. Additionally, five volunteer members whose terms concluded in December have not been replaced with new appointments.
