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November 2024

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In News

ROUNDUP: Experts Push Back As Trump Nominates “Unfit” “Anti-Science Backers” To Run Our Nation’s Top Health Institutions

Public Health Experts Assail “Out-and-Out Crank” RFK Jr. and “Middle Finger To Science” Dr. Oz

Over the past week, Donald Trump has made two of the most devastating blows to American health care by nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Oz to run the two biggest health institutions in the government. Throughout their careers, they have ignored science to instead promote fake “cures” that put lives at risk. Kennedy is an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist with no experience or qualifications for any role in managing our nation’s health care, least of all leading the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Oz made his name by advertising health scams on television. Neither is fit to be in charge of millions of Americans’ health care.

Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued a statement:

“Both RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz have one thing in common: they are junk science grifters who are deeply unfit to run America’s health institutions. With the two of them at the helm of American health care, we would be headed down a dark path. The consequences of these reckless nominations will touch nearly every household in the nation and every senator who cares about the health of their constituents should oppose them.”

The Bulwark: Entering Our Crank Era. 

  • “The first is that Trump’s nomination of an out-and-out crank to run HHS is the strongest proof yet that the president-elect truly learned nothing from his experience quarterbacking the federal pandemic response.”
  • “Pandemic or no pandemic, putting Kennedy at the helm of HHS will matter. Such is the case when you entrust a guy to run our health agencies who has organized his entire worldview around the hunch that scientific and medical subject-matter experts can never be trusted.”
  • “I spoke with Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician and virologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. When it comes to public health, Offit is an American hero: He is the coinventor of the pediatric rotavirus vaccine, and he serves on the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee. He’s also no reflexive Trump hater. But when I asked him about RFK Jr., he didn’t hold back: ‘He’s like the anti-science secretary…I think anybody who hears what he says should realize you shouldn’t have a science denialist heading agencies that are based on science. As HHS secretary, Offit said, Kennedy would be able to do substantial damage very quickly. He could dissolve HHS’s advisory committees, which give the department an enviable reservoir of public health knowledge. He could grind the approval of new state-of-the-art treatments to a standstill and even revoke approvals from treatments and vaccines already on the market. He could work to expose vaccine manufacturers to additional frivolous legislation. Much of this, we should note, Kennedy is on record supporting.”

Alternet: ‘Middle Finger To Science’: Experts Blast Trump’s ‘Single Most Important’ Healthy Policy Pick.

  • “KFF chief executive officer Drew Altman wrote: ‘The single most important position in health policy goes to… Dr Oz.’”
  • “American Economic Liberties Project researcher Matt Stoller commented: ‘Dr. Oz is not a good pick for a very powerful position in charge of a trillion dollars+ of health care spending. He wants to privatize what’s left of traditional Medicare and owns stock in a bunch of big health platform companies like United and CVS.’”
  • “Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch wrote: ‘We are all going to die.’”
  • “Lawrence Gostin, O’Neill Chair in Global Health Law at Georgetown Law, added: ‘Dr Oz is unfit to run CMS. He peddles conspiracy theories on vaccines & fake cures. He profits from fringe medical ideas. By nominating RFK Jr & Mehmet Oz, Trump is giving his middle finger to science. Having worked for 40 years in public health, it’s utterly disheartening.’”

Common Dreams: ‘Unfit’: Trump Nominates Dr. Oz to Run Medicare. 

  • “If confirmed to be the next U.S. secretary of health and human services, anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could be working ‘closely’ with another official who’s infamous for his questionable health guidance: Dr. Mehmet Oz, who President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”
  • “Oz has spent years peddling health advice, half of which University of Alberta researchers found to be ‘baseless or wrong’ in a 2014 study published in the British Medical Journal.”
  • “Oz has also maintained close ties to multi-level marketing companies that promote products like vitamins with false claims about their ability to treat, cure, or prevent diseases.”

Slate (Opinion): You Know RFK Jr. Is Going to Be Bad. It Might Get Even Worse. 

  • “The most dangerous thing Donald Trump is poised to do in his second administration… is elevate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a messianic, conspiracy-theorist, anti-vaccine menace to society. If Kennedy stands for confirmation as secretary of Health and Human Services, as Trump has announced, we should all march on the Capitol with tetanus-tipped pitchforks (metaphorically, of course) to protect global health and prevent us from going back a hundred years in health time.”
  • “It’s a fucking catastrophe. Kennedy can’t ban vaccines, but he can make it harder to get them. Even if you and yours are vaccinated, most vaccines don’t provide perfect immunity, so you are at risk as diseases circulate among unvaccinated people.” 
  • “[A]s long as Kennedy is in the spotlight and getting respectful coverage, public health is at risk. Brace yourselves. We’re about to be deluged with the most brazen and dangerous lies of our lifetimes.”

The Los Angeles Times (Opinion): Trump’s Anti-Science Backers Go After Water Fluoridation, A Historic Healthcare Success. 

  • “Kennedy’s tweet about fluoridation exemplifies the anti-vaccine crowd’s method of casting doubt on established public health policies. There are two elements. One is to portray rare adverse health effects — some so rare that their very existence is questionable — as major and acute threats. The second is to downplay the beneficial effects of a policy. That leaves the public believing that the policy has only adverse effects, and that those are immediate and severe.” 
  • “Kennedy’s mindset is curious: He has promoted treatment of COVID-19 with ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, which have been proven to be useless for the purpose, but he campaigns against fluoridation, which has demonstrated a health benefit over nearly eight decades. Is this any way to run a public health agency such as the HHS?”

The New York Times: Dr. Oz, Tapped to Run Medicare, Has a Record of Promoting Health Misinformation.

  • “On and off the screen, he has used his influence as one of the nation’s most recognizable doctors to champion healthy habits like a nutritious diet. But he has also sown misinformation — about Covid treatments, weight loss hacks and unproven supplements. He has invested in drug companies, even as he has publicly taken aim at Big Pharma, and has profited from a medical device that he helped invent but that has been subject to several recalls.”
  • “His nomination has alarmed some doctors and those who work in public health. ‘I just don’t know what side of Dr. Oz we’re going to see,’ said Dr. Pieter Cohen, a physician and associate professor at Harvard Medical School who studies supplements.”

The Hill: 5 of RFK Jr.’s Most Controversial Views. 

  • “President-elect Trump’s decision to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary will put some of the former independent presidential candidate’s most controversial views under deep scrutiny.”
  • “Kennedy is perhaps best known for his opposition to vaccinations, though he has balked at being labeled ‘anti-vaccine.’ The COVID-19 pandemic launched Kennedy’s anti-vaccine rhetoric to new heights.” 
  • “He vehemently opposed the COVID vaccine and was banned from Instagram in February 2021 for repeatedly spreading vaccine misinformation.”

NBC: Mehmet Oz’s Controversial Health Claims, From the HCG Diet to Green Coffee Extract.

  • “Many of those individual actions Oz recommended on his TV show over the years were based on questionable scientific evidence, Besser said. In a BMJ study from 2014, for instance, researchers evaluated health claims made on 40 randomly selected episodes of ‘The Dr. Oz Show,’ a syndicated daytime TV show that ran from 2009 to 2022. They found that about half of the recommendations made on the show were unsupported by scientific evidence.”
ashoup
In News

Latest Studies Show Devastating Price Hikes and Coverage Losses from Latest GOP Scheme to Undermine the Affordable Care Act

 If Congress Fails to Stop Republican Price Hikes, 20 Million Will See A Steep Increase In Health Care Costs and 5 Million Will Lose Coverage 

The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits that lower health care costs for millions of Americans are set to expire at the end of 2025. Republicans are fighting to let these tax credits expire, which will make health care more expensive for the middle class. Hardworking families are counting on lawmakers to act, but Republicans only want to raise costs on middle-class families while handing out tax breaks to the rich.  If Republicans get their way, premiums will skyrocket for over 20 million Americans, and 5 million Americans will become uninsured. 

This is just the latest MAGA attempt to sabotage the Affordable Care Act (ACA). More than 21 million Americans enrolled in coverage in 2024 – an all-time high – which means that more people than ever rely on the ACA to get the health care they need. This includes small business owners, people living in high-cost rural areas, farmers, people with pre-existing conditions, older adults, and more. Congress must act now to stop Republicans from hiking health care costs and  forcing more families to choose between seeing a doctor or keeping a roof over their heads.

New Study By Center for Budget and Policy Priorities Shows Health Care Costs Will Spike For Middle Class Families and Older Adults In Every State If Enhanced Tax Credits Expire.

  • Families Will See Their Annual Premiums Rise By As Much As $32,350 In Some States. In states such as Alaska, West Virginia and Wyoming, annual health care costs will increase by $26,700, $24,549, and $22,707 for a family of four making $126,000. Nationwide, a typical family of four making $126,000 a year will see their monthly marketplace premium increase from $893 to $1,589 – an annual increase of nearly $8,400.

  • Premiums Will Nearly Double On Average Within Congressional Districts. The average annual premium will increase by a median of $684 in Congressional districts nationwide. Premium increases will range from 41 to 218 percent in each district, with a median increase of 91 percent, meaning premiums will nearly double on average within Congressional districts.

KFF Study Shows Premiums Would Increase By 49 To 195 Percent In States Using Healthcare.gov

  • Premiums Would At Least Double In 12 States, all Represented by Republican Senators. Premiums currently average about $672 a year for residents who receive tax credits in states that use healthcare.gov. Without the enhanced premium tax credits, the average annual premium payment would rise by 93 percent ($624) to $1,296 a year.

  • Congress Will Need To Take Action By Spring 2025 To Avert A Spike In Premiums. Since insurance companies are required to finalize premiums for 2026 by August 2025, if Congress hasn’t taken action this Spring, insurance companies will count on an expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits. Insurers will expect the gains in Marketplace enrollment will reverse and the health status of remaining enrollees to be sicker, on average, than it is with enhanced subsidies. If insurers expect to lose their healthier enrollees, they will raise premiums heading into 2026 and consumers will see higher costs as early as 2025.

An Actuarial Firm Estimated A Total Of 5.4 Million Americans Will Lose Health Care If Congress Fails To Extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits.

  • Young Adults, People of Color, and People With Chronic Disease Will Be Disproportionately Impacted. 47 percent of younger adults (ages 18-34) are projected to lose their marketplace coverage. 52 percent of Black enrollees and 49 percent of Hispanic enrollees are expected to do the same. Roughly 1.7 million enrollees with at least one of six chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease are expected to lose their health care entirely.
  • Premiums Will Increase For All Marketplace Enrollees, Even Those Who Don’t Receive Tax Credits. Healthier enrollees are expected to leave marketplace enrollment at a higher rate than those with significant health care needs, throwing the risk pool out of balance, and driving up premiums across the board in the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.

Urban Institute Predicts States Will See A Huge Increase In Uninsured.

  • Expiration Of The Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Will Lead To An 16 Percent Increase In Uninsurance Nationwide. Black and Latino enrollees will make up a disproportionate share of those who lose coverage. 1.8 million Black and Latino Americans will become uninsured. 
  • States That Refuse To Expand Medicaid Will Suffer The Greatest Losses of Coverage. Without renewal of the enhanced premium tax credits, nearly 2.5 million people will lose health care across states without Medicaid expansion – resulting in a 27 percent increase in uninsurance across those states. States such as Mississippi and Alabama will see a 43 percent and 34 percent increase in uninsured respectively.

Cancer Patients and Survivors Will Suffer Without Enhanced Premium Tax Credits.

  • 43 Percent of Cancer Patients And Survivors Surveyed Said They Could Not Afford Health Care Without The Enhanced Premium Tax Credits. 21 percent said they are not sure what they would do if the enhanced premium tax credits expired.
  • Thirty Percent Said They Would Need To Skip Or Delay Health Care. One in four said they would accumulate debt in order to keep coverage. Nearly one in five stated they would borrow from hard earned retirement savings.
  • Twelve Percent of Cancer Patients Said They Did Not Expect To Survive Their Cancer Treatment Without The Tax Credits. They said they would not be able to afford treatment without the enhanced premium tax credits.

The Department of Treasury Found That Over 2.7 Million Small Business Owners and Self-Employed Workers Count On The Tax Credits for Affordable Health Care.

  • 28 Percent of Americans Ages 21-64 Who Rely on The Tax Credits Are Small Business Owners or Self-Employed. Before the Affordable Care Act, self-employed workers and small business owners had limited options to purchase affordable, high quality health coverage. The premium tax credits made it possible for people to start new businesses and maintain the security of affordable health coverage.
  • 285,000 Small Business Owners and Self-Employed Americans Relied on Enhanced Premium Tax Credits To Afford Health Care in 2022. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 increased the size of the credit for households with incomes below 400 percent of the poverty level and expanded eligibility to households with incomes above 400 percent of the poverty level for the first time. Over 2.7 million, or 82 percent, of self-employed workers and small business owners enrolled in Marketplace coverage in 2022 claimed premium tax credits – including about 285,000 small business owners and self-employed making greater than 400 percent of the federal poverty level or $54,360 a year who became newly eligible.

New Polling By Keep Americans Covered Finds 86 Percent of Voters Support Extending The Enhanced Premium Tax Credits. 

  • There Is Broad, Bipartisan Support For Extending The Enhanced Premium Tax Credits. 82 percent of Trump voters believe newly-elected leadership should take action to extend the tax credits.

 

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In News

TODAY: Protect Our Care Maine, California To Warn How RFK Jr. is a Threat to American Health Care

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22***

RFK Jr.’s Nomination for HHS Secretary puts American Lives at Risk and Threatens the Future of Health Care

Today, medical professionals and activists will join Protect Our Care in Maine and California to sound the alarm on Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary. If RFK Jr. is confirmed, it will put American lives at risk and jeopardize critical programs like the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid. RFK Jr. is deeply unqualified to serve in this position as he has no leadership qualifications in any role in public health or a government agency.  Additionally, his fringe views on vaccines and his disregard of science and public health makes him a danger to the American people. 

As HHS Secretary, RFK Jr.’s sole focus will be pushing these radical policies that will undermine decades of progress to lower health care costs, conduct research on life-saving cures for diseases, and keep Americans healthy. America deserves a leader at HHS who believes in science, the efficacy of vaccines, and who is committed to strengthening and expanding health care policies enacted since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Speakers will discuss how RFK Jr. ‘s leadership will affect nearly every person across the country, as he will prioritize his own interests and bolster MAGA efforts to increase health care costs by slashing Medicaid, repealing the ACA, and banning Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices. 

MAINE

WHO:
Dr. Patricia Hymanson, former Maine Representative and HHS Committee chair
Austin Vaughn, medical student
Barbara Shaw, health care attorney
Mark Gallagher, Protect Our Care

WHAT: Press Conference

WHEN: Friday, November 22, 2024 at 1 PM ET

WHERE: Portland City Hall, 389 Congress Street

CALIFORNIA

WHO:
Chris Noble, Health Access California
Dr. Jerry Abraham, President, Los Angeles County Medical Association
Dr. Diana Dayal, ER resident physician
Matthew Herdman, Protect Our Care California

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Friday, November 22, 2024, at 10 AM PT // 1 PM ET

WHERE: Register for the virtual event here (Registration required)

ashoup
In News, Roundup

HEADLINES: Trump and Republicans Eye Devastating Medicaid Cuts to Fund More Tax Breaks for the Wealthy

Medicaid Cuts Top Priority for MAGA Republicans, Putting the Lives of Millions At Risk

Trump is doubling down on his agenda to devastate health care for millions of Americans. For the last 59 years, Medicaid has been a pillar of our public health system, saving lives, keeping hospitals open, and improving the well-being of countless Americans. It covers one in four Americans, including kids, moms, seniors, people of color, rural Americans, and people with disabilities. But Trump and his allies in Congress have vowed to cut Medicaid and other vital programs in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans — and they are not skipping a beat to get it done. News coverage makes clear that, if Trump gets his way, coverage would be ripped away from millions and the entire health care system would be thrown into chaos. 

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

  • U.S. Representative Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19), a Republican who leads the House Budget Committee, told reporters last week that he favored a “responsible and reasonable work requirement” for Medicaid, which translates to millions losing their coverage.
  • U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), another Republican from Texas, said of Medicaid, “We ought to look at whether we’re doing it the right way.” He said he supported “block grants,” in which states get lump sums, regardless of how many people sign up for the program. Studies show block grants would slash Medicaid funding and put coverage in jeopardy for millions of people. 
  • U.S. Representative Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02), one of two leading contenders for Energy and Commerce chair, told Axios he is interested in reviving a proposal from the 2017 Affordable Care Act repeal bill that would cap Medicaid spending on each enrollee, known as a “per capita cap” or allotment. “We offered Medicaid reform in reconciliation in the repeal-and-replace package, and it was per capita allotments, which didn’t cut Medicaid but it does limit the growth,” Guthrie said. “I do think it has to be discussed as part of the package [next year],” Guthrie said, adding that he hadn’t yet discussed the idea with leadership.

HEADLINES

The New York Times: Medicaid May Face Big Cuts and Work Requirements. “Republicans could face political resistance in efforts to cut Medicaid, especially because it has so many enrollees — millions more than Medicare… In 2017, Republicans faced a major backlash for trying to roll back the Obamacare Medicaid expansion… Faced with such a large funding reduction, some states may stop participating in the Medicaid expansion, experts said. A Medicaid work requirement would also target adults who were added in the expansion (although most of them are already working).” [NYT, 11/20/24]

HuffPost: Health Insurance For Millions Is Now Officially At Stake — Again. “… several high-ranking Republicans on Capitol Hill told Politico big cuts to Medicaid should be on the agenda… Philosophically, they believe that downsizing and reshaping these programs is the right thing to do. And as a practical matter, they will be looking for ways to offset at least some of the cost of their proposed tax cuts, which could show up as several trillion dollars worth of lost revenue on the federal government’s ledger… The biggest pot of money in the federal budget goes to the big entitlement programs. And although Trump has pledged to protect Medicare and Social Security, he has made no equivalent guarantees about either the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid.” [HuffPost, 11/20/24]

The Washington Post: Trump Allies Eye Overhauling Medicaid, Food Stamps in Tax Legislation. “House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) told reporters Wednesday that a “responsible and reasonable work requirement” for Medicaid benefits resembling the one that already exists for food stamps could yield about $100 billion in savings… If Congress balks at lowering Medicaid spending, Republicans may be able to reduce it anyway. While Trump vowed to protect Medicaid as a candidate during his 2016 presidential bid, the first Trump administration allowed 13 GOP-led states to add work requirements to their Medicaid programs, a controversial change that was the focus of legal battles.” [The Washington Post, 11/18/24]

Axios: GOP Weighs Medicaid Overhaul In Reconciliation. “Why it matters: Changes could significantly reshape the safety net program that covers more than 70 million people, saving money but also potentially leading to significant coverage losses. Driving the news: Perhaps the most likely Medicaid change is imposing work requirements on recipients, according to GOP sources.” [Axios, 11/20/24] 

The Guardian: Trump Advisers Contemplating Cuts to Medicaid and Other Welfare Programs. “The cuts could mean new work requirements and spending caps… Republicans fear triggering a political backlash by slashing programmes that serve an estimated 70 million Americans to pay for a tax cut that disproportionately benefits the wealthy. The 2017 tax cuts were criticised for being skewed in favour of the rich, with households in the top 1% income bracket receiving a reduction of $60,000 in 2025, compared with less than $500 for those in the bottom 60%, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.” [The Guardian, 11/18/24]

Vox: Trump Proposed Big Medicaid and Food Stamp Cuts. Can He Pass Them? “Trump has promised not to cut Medicare, much as he did in 2016, and while his budgets as president did envision spending reductions, they were mostly minor and came from cutting provider payments rather than limiting eligibility. He did, repeatedly and explicitly, propose cutting Medicaid… Trump waffled on how clear he wanted to be in calling for Medicaid cuts. His 2021 budget was too vague for the CBO to even model… There is not much room to cut Medicaid without reducing access to the program.” [Vox, 11/6/24]

ashoup
In Fact Sheet, Research

FACT SHEET: Dr. Mehmet Oz Is A Quack Grifter Unqualified To Administer Health Care For Over 160 Million Americans

By nominating Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Donald Trump has taken another disastrous step to sabotage Americans’ health care. A staunch MAGA loyalist, Dr. Oz has a close relationship with Trump’s extreme Health & Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., having promoted his dangerous anti-vaccine conspiracy theories on his show a decade ago. Like Trump, Dr. Oz is a shameless grifter and TV personality; he rose to fame promoting dozens of health scams on his show – including one that led to a multimillion-dollar class action settlement for false advertising. The American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics has called him “a dangerous rogue unfit for the office of America’s doctor.” 

More than 160 million Americans depend on programs administered by CMS. Trump has given Dr. Oz a mandate to slash Medicaid and Medicare. In the past, Oz has pushed to gut Medicare and force seniors onto expensive privatized plans that limit what doctors they can see, deny them care, cost taxpayers more, and give $200 billion away annually to big insurance companies,  pushing Medicare toward bankruptcy without improving care at all. He even opposes the Affordable Care Act, and he said he would have voted against it. With Dr. Oz and RFK Jr. overseeing the country’s health care sector, the second Trump administration will only lead us into chaos.

Dr. Oz Will Push To Gut Medicare and Push Seniors Onto Expensive Privatized Plans. As head of CMS, Oz would oversee Medicare, which covers over 67 million seniors and people with disabilities. In Trump’s announcement of his intention to appoint Oz as CMS administrator, he suggested cuts to Medicare would be on the table: “[Oz] will also cut waste and fraud within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation’s Healthcare spend, and a quarter of our entire National Budget.” Republicans often cloak health care cuts as cutting “waste and abuse” while actually risking care for people who need it. Oz previously praised a plan from Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) which would have ended funding for all federal programs, including Medicare, in five years without Congressional action. In 2022, Oz also staked his Senate campaign on forcing millions of seniors off of traditional Medicare and onto privatized plans – a policy right out of Project 2025. He touted his plan as “Medicare Advantage For All,” even though these plans limit what doctors patients can see, deny patients care, cost taxpayers more, give $200 billion away annually to big insurance companies, and push Medicare towards bankruptcy. Experts estimate that if Medicare Advantage (MA) rose to 75 percent of Medicare enrollment, the program would waste nearly $2 trillion over 10 years on excess payments to these private plans “without any real improvement in health care quality for enrollees.” Even now, as lawmakers have worked to rein in overpayments, some MA plans are prioritizing shareholders over patients by decreasing benefits; of the 25 MA parent organizations by number of plan offerings, 76 percent are decreasing their offerings ahead of the upcoming open enrollment period. MA plans are also known to systematically underpay rural providers and deny coverage to rural Americans. Pushing seniors to MA plans would put rural hospitals at risk of closing and seniors at risk of losing access to care.

Dr. Oz Opposes The Affordable Care Act. After he launched his 2022 Senate campaign as a Republican, Oz called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) “wrong,” and said he “would not have voted for Obamacare.” As head of CMS, Oz would be responsible for implementing the ACA’s consumer protections and regulating state Health Insurance Marketplaces.

  • Dr. Oz Believes “Americans Don’t Have The Right To Health.” In a 2013 speech to Republican governors, Oz proclaimed, “[Americans] don’t have the right to health, but they have a right to access — a chance to get that health,” revealing his belief that only Americans who can afford top-tier health insurance deserve quality care.

Dr. Oz Is A Staunch Trump Loyalist and “Friend” To RFK Jr. Oz has always been a Trump loyalist, receiving Trump’s endorsement during his 2022 Senate run after going to “extensive lengths to win over the former president” and his relationship with RFK Jr. goes back at least 10 years to when Oz hosted him on his TV show to spread anti-vaccine misinformation. After Trump announced his selection of Oz for CMS, RFK Jr. proudly posted on X, “Very excited that my friend @DrOz has agreed to run CMS. Thank you ​@realDonaldTrump for this outstanding nomination. Welcome Dr​. Oz to ​The Avengers. ​Let’s Make America Healthy Again!” 

Just Like RFK Jr., Dr. Oz Has Spent His Career Pushing Pseudoscience. Oz has a long record of grifting dietary supplements unsupported by scientific evidence and recommending at-home ailments based on alarming pseudoscience. In 2012, Oz claimed that selenium supplements were “the holy grail of cancer prevention,” with no scientific evidence to back the claim. Instead, studies have found that high rates of selenium intake can cause severe heart problems. In February 2012, Oz baselessly claimed that raspberry ketones were “the No. 1 miracle in a bottle to burn your fat.” As the Public Affairs Council found, “There is a total lack of research on raspberry ketones’ effects on fat loss.” In 2014, Oz encouraged his followers to try using strawberries and baking soda to whiten teeth, even though studies have found that the mixture may harm tooth health. In 2015, Oz baselessly claimed that umckaloabo root extract was “incredibly effective at relieving cold symptoms,” even though the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that “there’s a lack of reliable studies on the benefits of these products.” In 2018, Oz tweeted a bizarre pseudoscientific claim that astrological signs “may reveal a great deal about our health.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oz even pushed unproven DIY treatments for the virus, publicly claiming that antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine could be an effective treatment.

Dr. Oz Pushed Dietary Supplements Falsely Promising Weight Loss, Leading To A Multi-Million Dollar False Advertising Settlement. In July 2018, Oz reached a $5.25 million legal settlement in a class action lawsuit against him for pushing green coffee extract dietary supplements he promised had weight loss benefits. On his TV show, Oz promised that the supplements were a “magic weight-loss cure” and “revolutionary fat buster” despite having no scientific evidence to back his claims. Oz testified before Congress on false advertising in the diet and weight-loss industry four years prior. During the hearing, Oz attempted to defend his products to no avail; as one Senator pointed out, “the scientific community is almost monolithic against you.”

Dr. Oz Holds Extreme Anti-Abortion Views. Oz made it clear he opposed Roe v. Wade’s federal abortion protections. During a 2022 debate, when asked about reproductive health care access, Oz declared, “There should not be involvement from the federal government in how states decide their abortion decisions…I want women, doctors, local political leaders, letting the democracy that’s always allowed our nation to thrive to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves.”

ashoup
In News

State Senator Kim Jackson Joins Protect Our Care Georgia to Highlight How RFK Jr. is a Threat to American Health Care

For Immediate Release
November 20, 2024
Contact: Liz Ernst

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, AT 10 AM ET***

RFK Jr.’s Nomination for HHS Secretary puts American Lives at Risk and Threatens the Future of Health Care

Atlanta, GA – Today, State Senator Kim Jackson, Dr. Len Lichtenfeld and Georgia health care advocates will join Protect Our Care Georgia to sound the alarm on Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary. If RFK Jr. is confirmed, it will put Georgians’ lives at risk and jeopardize critical programs like the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid. RFK Jr. is deeply unqualified to serve in this position as he has no leadership qualifications in any role in public health or a government agency. Additionally, his fringe views on vaccines and his disregard of science and public health makes him a danger to the American people.

As HHS Secretary, RFK Jr.’s sole focus will be pushing these radical policies that will undermine decades of progress to lower health care costs, conduct research on life-saving cures for diseases, and keep Georgians healthy. Georgians deserve a leader at HHS who believes in science, the efficacy of vaccines, and who is committed to strengthening and expanding health care policies enacted since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Speakers will discuss how RFK Jr.’s leadership will affect nearly every Georgian.

PRESS CALL

WHO:
State Senator Kim Jackson
Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, Oncologist focused on COVID-19 response and impact on cancer care
Sara Cherry, Cancer survivor

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Thursday, November 21st at 10 AM ET

WHERE: Register for the virtual event here (Registration required)

ashoup
In News

ROUNDUP: “Dangerous Rogue” Dr. Oz Set Tapped To Lead CMS With “No Experience”

From “Magic Weight-Loss Beans” To Hydroxychloroquine To Selenium Supplements, Dr. Oz Promotes “Scientifically Dubious Theories”

Yesterday, Donald Trump nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Between Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and the Affordable Care Act, over 160 million Americans rely on CMS for their health care. Dr. Oz supports efforts to privatize Medicare and has said that he would have voted against the Affordable Care Act (ACA). His proposals threaten to raise costs and put health care for millions at risk. Instead of nominating someone with experience, Trump chose a dishonest, celebrity medical professional who is most known for promoting scams. The American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics has called him “a dangerous rogue unfit for the office of America’s doctor.” Between the nominations of Dr. Oz and RFK Jr., it is clear Donald Trump is building a cabinet that mirrors himself: incompetent, inexperienced, and unqualified.

HEADLINES

Washington Post: What to Know About Dr. Oz, the TV Physician Trump Tapped to Run Medicare. 

  • “Throughout his television career, Oz broached controversial topics in segments that sparked backlash, and he broadcast products and advice that critics said were not backed by evidence. A feature on gay conversion therapy that asked viewers, “Is there a gay cure?” was slammed by LGBTQ+ groups.”
  • “A group of doctors unsuccessfully pushed Columbia University to cut ties with Oz over his statements against genetically modified foods. He promoted a green coffee bean “miracle pill” to lose weight before the company behind the product was sued by the Federal Trade Commission over bogus claims.”
  • “In 2014, a study in the British Medical Journal found that more than half the recommendations made on “The Dr. Oz Show” were either not backed up by, or contradicted, scientific research.”

The Independent: From ‘Magic’ Weight-Loss Coffee Beans To Red Onion Stopping Cancer: Dr Oz’s History Of Baseless Medical Claims. 

  • “He went on to host his own program, The Dr Oz Show, where he spouted other dangerously misleading claims ranging from ‘magic’ coffee beans to spur weight loss and selenium supplements to prevent cancer. A 2017 paper published by the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics called him ‘a dangerous rogue unfit for the office of America’s doctor.’”

STAT: Trump Picks Dr. Oz to Lead Medicare and Medicaid.

  • “Oz has faced Senate grilling before for his promotion of weight-loss products on his show. He told senators in 2014 that his image and quotes were used unfairly to hawk scam products.”
  • “Throughout his career, Oz has oscillated between spouting scientific misinformation and taking evidence-based and nuanced stances that place him well outside the Republic mainstream.”
  • “But since entering the world of high-profile Republican politics, he has proved his willingness to toe the party line, perhaps most notably via his newfound vitriol for Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases. On Valentine’s Day 2022, during a heated Republican primary against David McCormick (now senator-elect), Oz wrote in a social media post: ‘Roses are red, violets are blue, Dr. Fauci lied to you.’”

Axios: Trump Picks Dr. Oz to Run Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

  • “Oz is a household name and became a Trump world ally during a failed 2022 Senate run. But he has no experience running a large government bureaucracy like CMS, which administers Medicare and Medicaid and conducts other services like inspecting nursing homes.”
  • “He came to national prominence as Oprah’s go-to health guru, and later hosted his own long-running talk show. Oz has repeatedly drawn criticism over the years, including from fellow medical professionals, for espousing scientifically dubious theories and promoting treatments with no documented efficacy.”

New York Times: Trump Plans to Nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz to Oversee Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare.

  • “Dr. Oz has also frequently clashed with other medical experts. In the early days of the pandemic, he promoted the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to ward off the coronavirus, medicines that were shown to be ineffective in treating the virus. A decade ago, he went before a Senate panel and was chastised for hyping so-called miracle weight loss products without substantial proof that they worked.”

Reuters: Trump Picks TV’s Dr. Oz to Run Medicare and Medicaid.

  • “Oz was a regular Fox News commentator during the COVID-19 pandemic and a proponent of unproven treatments for COVID-19 including hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug whose use against the disease was also backed by Trump. ”

CNN: Trump Names Dr. Mehmet Oz to Head Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

  • “The CMS administrator is expected to play an important role in the second Trump administration since Republicans are expected to propose changes to Medicaid, which they have sought to shrink in the past. Plus, the White House and GOP lawmakers will have to decide what to do next year about the enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025.”
  • “Oz, who is an advocate of alternative medicines and treatments, has been skewered by the medical community for years. In 2015, a group of physicians wrote Columbia University, saying they were “dismayed” Oz was a member of the school’s faculty. And in 2014, Oz was scolded by senators during a congressional hearing over his promotion of weight-loss products on his television show.”

COMMENTARY

Senator Patty Murray, President Pro Tempore, (D-WA): “Dr. Oz has zero qualifications, pushes alarming pseudoscience, & holds extreme anti-abortion views. CMS is a critical agency & we need serious leaders to protect Americans’ health care and bring down costs—not TV hosts whose main qualification is their loyalty to Trump.”

Senator Ron Wyden, Senate Finance Committee Chair, (D-OR): “Trump’s health care agenda is all about empowering fraudsters and big business while everyday Americans are stuck with the bill. Dr. Oz is no stranger to peddling nonsense to innocent Americans without facing consequences. This is one of the most consequential positions in American government, touching millions of seniors and families who count on Medicare and Medicaid for affordable health care. Americans deserve a leader at CMS who will stand up to Big Pharma and insurance fraudsters who are misleading seniors and denying them essential health care, and I’m not sure a talk show host is up for the fight. I’m especially concerned about rural communities that count on Medicaid for affordable health care for kids and families – you can’t have rural life without rural health care.”

Rep. Frank Pallone, Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member, (D-NJ-06): “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is a workhorse agency. It helps ensure access to health care for millions of Americans, including our nation’s seniors, our children, and the poorest Americans. Given the crucial importance of this agency, I am alarmed that President-elect Trump has chosen a TV celebrity without the experience or background to lead it. Unfortunately, this nomination further demonstrates that Trump is not concerned about Americans’ health care. By nominating both RFK, Jr. and Dr. Oz, Trump is doubling down on leaders that peddle in dangerous misinformation that endangers public health.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “Running Medicare and Medicaid for over 100 million Americans isn’t like hosting a daytime talk show. Dr. Oz is another rich guy who doesn’t care if your health care costs go up or an insurance company denies you coverage. These decisions have life and death consequences.”

ashoup
In Fact Sheet, Research

FACT SHEET: Trump Threatens To Destroy America’s Top Health Institutions By Nominating RFK Jr. For HHS Secretary

Donald Trump has once again moved to undermine the health care of millions of Americans by nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy is a clear threat to the health care and public health institutions that keep Americans safe. From his fringe views on vaccines to outrageous racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories, Kennedy’s bizarre beliefs demonstrate his obvious lack of fitness for the position. Kennedy has no experience crafting health policy and he wants to dismantle drug development and infectious disease research. His abhorrent and deadly conspiratorial beliefs should not be anywhere near the top federal agency dictating health policy. If he gets confirmed, millions of American lives will be at stake.

RFK Jr. Is A Threat To Public Health

“No Vaccine Is Safe and Effective:” Kennedy Has Been A Leading Anti-Vaccine Voice For Decades With Deadly Consequences, Frequently Targeting Black Communities. Kennedy, who has said, “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective,” has been a leading voice pushing anti-vaccine conspiracy theories for years. He even said he accosts strangers with babies and urges them not to vaccinate to “save” their children. Nearly two decades ago, Kennedy began spreading a conspiracy theory about the government supposedly working to cover up connections between autism and vaccines. Kennedy has specifically targeted his anti-vaccine dogma at Black Americans. He pushed false claims about Black Americans supposedly being “particularly vulnerable to vaccine injuries including autism” during a 2017 measles outbreak devastating Minnesota’s Somali-American community. In a 2020 interview, Kennedy also asserted without evidence that “People with African blood react differently to vaccines than people with Caucasian blood. They’re much more sensitive.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, he also called the COVID-19 vaccine “a crime against humanity” and falsely claimed that it is the “deadliest vaccine ever made,” releasing a film promoting disproven claims about the dangers of vaccines and explicitly warning Black communities of “sinister” vaccination campaigns. His rhetoric has had deadly consequences; in 2019, 83 people died in a measles epidemic in Samoa after Kennedy visited the island country and met with prominent local anti-vaccine activists.

Kennedy Promotes Dangerous Conspiracy Theories About Fluoridated Water, 5G Cell Service, Antidepressants, “Gay” Chemicals In The Environment, HIV/AIDS, and More. Kennedy believes fluoridated water is “drugging” our children, and has said the second Trump administration would advise states and communities to remove fluoride from the water supply completely. He has also circulated the bogus notion that 5G cellular networks are dangerous, alleging that 5G “causes cancer” and, ‘DNA dysfunction…making our children stupider and sicker.” Kennedy has promoted bizarre beliefs about antidepressants, blaming the SSRI class of medication for school shootings. He has also repeatedly shared unfounded conspiracies that man-made chemicals in the environment could be making children gay or transgender and causing the so-called feminization of boys and masculinization of girls. On multiple occasions, Kennedy has suggested that AIDS may not be caused by HIV, an established scientific fact for decades, claiming instead that, “There are much better candidates than HIV for what causes AIDS.”

Time and Again, Kennedy Has Embraced Blatantly Racist and Antisemitic Views On Public Health Issues. Kennedy has a long history of racism and antisemitism. He has frequently met with and promoted antisemites ranging from disgraced musicians like rapper Ice Cube to fringe online broadcasters and virulent antisemites. At a July 2023 dinner, Kennedy proposed that the COVID-19 virus may have been ethnically targeted to spare Jewish and Chinese people: “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” After the speech went viral, neo-Nazis, holocaust deniers, and antisemites celebrated Kennedy’s conspiracy theory as “100% correct.” In November 2024, new reporting revealed that Kennedy embraced the possibility that the government manufactured the COVID-19 “plandemic,” declaring that the public health response was part of an “agenda that will enslave the entire human race.”

RFK Jr. Is A Threat To The Health of Every American

“I Do Not Believe That Infectious Disease Is An Enormous Threat To Human Health:” Kennedy Threatens to Dismantle America’s Public Health Apparatus. Kennedy has said he will pause all research on drug development and infectious disease and fire hundreds of NIH and FDA employees: “I’m going to go to NIH my first week and I’m going to call all the division heads and I’m going to call all the bureau chiefs and I’m going to say, we’re going to give drug development and infectious disease a break…for about eight years.” Kennedy has also claimed that he will go after medical journals and redirect funding away from disease research. In 2023, Kennedy said, “I do not believe that infectious disease is an enormous threat to human health.”

Kennedy Will “Go Wild” On Women’s Health and Destroy Transgender Health Care. Trump has ominously threatened to let Kennedy “go wild” and “do whatever you want” on women’s health. In August 2023, he backed a 15-week federal abortion ban. Though his campaign quickly walked back the policy, Kennedy stated, “I think the states have a right to protect a child once the child becomes viable, and that right, it increases,” and suggested the point of viability was three months – suggesting that he never supported Roe v. Wade’s federal abortion protections in the first place. RFK Jr. also supports banning evidence-based gender-affirming care that many medical experts consider a medical necessity, calling it a “non-existential” issue.

RFK Jr. Is Unfit to Run America’s Health Care System

Kennedy Is Completely Unqualified To Lead The Nation’s Largest Civilian Agency. Kennedy has no relevant experience for this position, has never worked in government, and has never directed a large organization of any kind. His anti-vaccine group, Children’s Health Defense, lists fewer than ten staff members, compared to more than 80,000 employees of HHS across a diverse array of sub-agencies and departments. Despite being nominated to run HHS, RFK Jr. has failed to take any position on America’s largest health care institutions – Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which fall under the purview of HHS. In the past, Kennedy falsely claimed that the passage of the ACA resulted in Democrats “getting more money from pharma than Republicans.”

Brain Worms, Animal Carcasses, and Extramarital Affairs: Kennedy Is Unstable and Unfit to Hold Office. Kennedy has a long and well-documented history of erratic and bizarre behavior. In May 2024, Kennedy disclosed that in 2010 doctors found a dead parasitic worm in his brain, leading to brain fog and memory problems. In August 2024, Kennedy admitted to illegally napping roadkill, moving a bear cub’s carcass that was hit by a car in upstate New York to Central Park, and staging a bicycle accident. Federal law enforcement is also currently investigating RFK Jr. for cutting off the head of a dead whale and taking it home 20 years ago. Kennedy has a known history of extramarital affairs as well; this year alone, news broke of a sexting scandal with a reporter and four women came forward claiming to have been romantically involved with Kennedy.

ashoup
In News

BREAKING: Donald Trump Nominates Deeply Unqualified TV Personality and Scam Artist Dr. Oz to Administer Vital Programs Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA Marketplace

Washington, D.C. — Today, Donald Trump took another disastrous step to undermine the health of the American people by nominating Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). More than 160 million Americans depend on programs administered by CMS for their health care. Medicare covers more than 66 million Americans and Medicaid and CHIP cover nearly 80 million more. Dr. Oz is a sham medical professional who rose to fame promoting health scams on television and, despite residing in New Jersey, ran a failed campaign for Senate in Pennsylvania. He is notorious for popularizing dishonest, anti-science beliefs and flip-flopping on policy to promote his own self-interests. In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement: 

“Once again, Trump shows us he cares more about celebrity than competence. Not since the Wizard of Oz himself has there been a bigger fraud than this guy. Dr. Oz is wholly and deeply unqualified to lead CMS, and his incompetence would put more than 140 million Americans who rely on Medicare and Medicaid at risk. During his run for U.S. Senate, he called the Affordable Care Act the ‘wrong’ system. He exploited the public’s trust in him as a doctor to push quack medical cures, such as fad diets and the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, in order to line his own pockets. He is a grifter and a threat to public health. Dr. Oz and RFK Jr. at the helm of our country’s health care administration will only lead us into a disaster unlike any other. The American people deserve better than this clown show running American health care.”

ashoup
In News, Roundup

People Who Know the Best Think RFK Jr.’s Nomination Is the Worst

On November 14th, Donald Trump took a dangerous step for Americans’ health by nominating anti-vaccince conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For years, Kennedy has spouted dangerous anti-vaccination beliefs and spread baseless lies about fluoride in the water supply. While on the campaign trail, he promised to stop research on drug development and infectious diseases. RFK Jr. is a MAGA loyalist who will put the personal interests of Donald Trump ahead of the needs of the American people. The truth is that RFK Jr. is unqualified to lead HHS and radically out of step with the American people. If confirmed, he will be a disaster for our public health. But don’t just take our word for it:

Dr. Mandy Cohen, CDC Director: RFK Jr. Will Take Us “Backwards.” “I don’t want to go backwards and see children or adults suffer or lose their lives to remind us that vaccines work, and so I’m concerned.” [11/14/24] 

Kathleen Sebelius, Former Health and Human Services Secretary: RFK Jr.’s Nomination Is “Terrifying For The American Public”. “To have someone coming into a scientific agency that is a vaccine skeptic and may well undo decades of public health work, I think, is terrifying for the American public who rely on HHS from cradle to grave for resources, for information, for public health, for oversight of our food and medicines. That, to me, is a very frightening aspect for the American public.” [11/15/24]

Dr. Richard Besser, Former Acting CDC Director,  President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Having RFK Jr. Lead HHS “Is Extremely Dangerous.” “But to keep lifting up the idea that [the cause of autism] has something to do with vaccination is really a cruel thing to do. It’s pushing the idea that vaccines should be something that is totally up to the individual. We have a social contract in our country. There are things we do for our own health, but there are things we do that are good for ourselves, our families and our communities, and vaccination falls into that category and having somebody who denies that in that role is extremely dangerous. I am outraged because lives are at stake here. The head of Health and Human Services touches programs that affect every single life in our country. To have someone leading HHS who is one of the biggest deniers of vaccines in our country, would undermine the confidence in that program and likely would cost lives.” [11/17/24]

Josh Sharfstein, Former FDA Deputy Commissioner and Public Health Professor at Johns Hopkins University: RFK Jr. Is a “Purveyor of Falsehoods.” “He is a purveyor of falsehoods and he has nothing but contempt for people who work in agencies and have devoted their careers to using science to improve health.” [11/14/24]

Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, Former Biden Administration COVID-19 Coordinator: RFK Jr. is an “Extraordinarily Bad Choice for the Health of the American People.” “This is an extraordinarily bad choice for the health of the American people. The HHS Secretary shapes health policy in profound ways. He would oversee Medicare for instance  — and determine and shape your parents and grandparents’ health insurance. He and people he appoints would oversee the agency that decides what medicines are available to the American people. His ideas may sound good on bumper stickers but are unserious and often downright harmful. Our healthcare system is far from perfect. But it has spurred so much progress that has benefitted the American people. This appointment, if confirmed, puts all of that at risk.” [11/14/24]

Georges C. Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association: “The American People Deserve Better.” “Unfortunately, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has demonstrated a consistent lack of willingness to listen, learn, and act in the best interest of the health of the American people. He was identified in 2021 as a member of the ‘Disinformation Dozen’ that produced 65% of the shares of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms that contributed to the public’s mistrust in science and likely led to morbidity and mortality. The American people deserve better than Mr. Kennedy. We need an HHS secretary under the Trump administration who will listen to science, not discredit it.” [11/18/24]

Jonathan Reiner, MD, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at George Washington University Hospital and Professor of Medicine at George Washington University: RFK Jr. Is “Unfit” to Lead HHS. “He fits with the pattern we’ve seen this week… the hiring of people that are not just unqualified… but unfit. Mr. Kennedy has already shown over the last ten years his penchant for not just promoting unproven ideas but promoting disproven ideas. He has loudly promoted conspiracy theories such as the COVID virus being bioengineered to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese [people], he’s promoted the completely disproven concept that vaccines are connected to autism, he’s been a loud not just skeptic but denier of the safety and efficacy of all vaccines, most recently mRNA vaccines… So basically we’re putting not just a vaccine denier but a science skeptic in charge of all of the nation’s premier health agencies.” [11/14/24]

Dr. Andrea Love, Immunologist, Microbiologist: “The Damage He Could Do Is Near Infinite.” “Honestly, if you look at the purview of HHS Secretary, the damage he could do is near infinite. And none of his long history gives any indication he will actually do anything to improve health, especially for those of lower socioeconomic status. I can honestly say it has never been this bad… [He could] skew, redirect, and reallocate grant and research funding [toward] fringe research,… cut funding for education and public health initiatives like vaccine campaigns or other public health interventions like fluoridation,… [and slow or halt regulatory approval] for vaccines, biologics, immunotherapies, and other critical medical interventions.” [11/15/24]

Torney Smith, Spokane Regional Health District Administrator: RFK Jr. Doesn’t Understand Public Health “At All.” “I have some early grave concerns. We know enough about Kennedy to understand that he is a person who does not believe in immunizations. He’s an individual that I don’t think understands public health at all. And to put a person like that in charge is reckless, in my opinion.” [11/15/24]

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group: “The Consequence Will Be Fatal.” Kennedy could use HHS “to pursue the same anti-science positions on life-saving public health interventions that he has advanced previously. If this makes families hesitate to immunize against the deadly diseases that threaten children, the consequence will be fatal for some.” [11/15/24]

Sean O’Leary, Chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics: “We Will Have Preventable Deaths.” “My fear is that children and the public will be harmed by an assault on science. We will see more measles, more pertussis. We will have preventable deaths based on politics and misinformation.” [11/14/24]  

Timothy Caulfield, Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta: RFK Jr. Will Cause “Generational Harm.” “Horrifying. A genuine catastrophe. This is a person who has spread deadly lies and conspiracy theories. He ignores evidence. He ignores experts. I have no doubt that he will do great harm—generational harm—to public health, trust in science, and biomedical research. Moreover, at the international level, he will platform, normalize, and legitimize pseudoscience and health misinformation, making it more ubiquitous and difficult to fact check.” [11/15/24]

Robert Weissman, Co-President of Public Citizen: RFK Jr. Is A “Clear and Present Danger.” “Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health. He shouldn’t be allowed in the building at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be placed in charge of the nation’s public health agency. Donald Trump’s bungling of public health policy during the Covid pandemic cost hundreds of thousands of lives. By appointing Kennedy as his Secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another, policy-driven public health catastrophe.” [11/14/24]

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