December 2024

Recent news coverage and opinion pieces from across the country make clear that RFK Jr. and his radical agenda are dangerous for American health care. He doesn’t have the experience and skills to run major health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid that over 125 million Americans rely on for their health care. By opposing life-saving vaccines and pledging to stop funding research for cures and treatments, he will put the health of every American at risk. He embraces fringe ideas and promotes conspiracies, ignoring already settled science and experts. It was recently revealed RFK Jr.’s lawyer petitioned the FDA to revoke the polio vaccine. At his very core, RFK Jr. is anti-thetical to keeping Americans healthy. 

HEADLINES

The Washington Post: RFK Jr. Tries to Build Momentum for HHS Candidacy on Capitol Hill

• Leslie Dach, founder of Protect Our Care, a left-leaning advocacy group fighting Kennedy’s selection for HHS, said he isn’t impressed by Kennedy’s early meetings with GOP senators. “He purposely picked the easy ones who will give him momentum,” Dach said. “The senators that matter, he hasn’t seen. … Just looking at public remarks, you can see enough votes to defeat him,” Dach said. “This is a fight we can win.”

The New Republic: RFK Jr.’s Cabinet Nomination Is Already Flopping

• He’ll also have to convince lawmakers that his agenda, which opposes vaccine mandates for school-aged children and includes appointing someone who has filed a petition with the FDA to end the approval and “pause distribution” of 13 vaccines, isn’t at odds with the future of America’s health.

New York Times: What Kennedy Has Said About the Polio Vaccine in Recent Years

• But a New York Times review of Mr. Kennedy’s public comments over the past several years shows that he has consistently expressed views about the polio vaccine that are at odds with the medical consensus. For example, he has suggested that after the vaccine was first introduced, it might have caused a wave of cancers “that killed many, many, many, many, many more people than polio ever did.” And he has said the idea that the vaccine resulted in a drastic decline in polio cases is “a mythology” that is “just not true.”

OPINION

Press Herald: Opinion: Why RFK Jr. Must Not Become HHS Secretary.
By Donna A. Gaffney, psychotherapist, and Teri Mills, retired adult nurse practitioner.

• Despite his unfounded beliefs, Kennedy is out of step with the majority of Americans who know that vaccination is a crucial tool in controlling the spread of a virus and protecting public health. The Pew Research Center found in 2023 that 88% of Americans say the benefits of childhood vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) outweigh the risks, compared with just 10% who say the risks outweigh the benefits.

Los Angeles Times: Column: The Latest Evidence That Putting RFK Jr. In Charge of Public Health Would Be a Disaster.
By Robin Abcarian, LA Times Columnist. 

• Last week, the New York Times reported that in 2022, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attorney and close advisor Aaron Siri had petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval of the polio vaccine in use for the last three decades until its safety can be studied further against an unvaccinated control group. Kennedy, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, is a longtime vaccine skeptic who spouts nonsense about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and a lot of other things. He is, in the view of many medical professionals, a danger to public health.

The Nation: RFK Jr. Is Giving Infectious Diseases a Promotional Tour
By Gregg Gonsalves, codirector of the Global Health Justice Partnership and associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health.

• RFK Jr. has bragged that he’d tell researchers at the National Institutes of Health to give “infectious disease a break for about eight years.” Well, he isn’t giving infectious disease a break but leading its promotional tour. If this man gets what he wants, old scourges will be back with a vengeance. And those years, like those of my father’s childhood, filled with the terror of deadly diseases, the suffering and upheaval of sickness and death visited upon families, the lingering effects down the generations, will be here again.

Greenfield Reporter: My Turn: Just Say No to Polio and RFK Jr.
By Roxann Wedegartner, former mayor of Greenfield, MA.

• For me, the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services is one of the worst, because of, among other reasons, his stance on vaccinations — in particular, a petition to the FDA by Kennedy’s lawyer, Aaron Siri, to revoke approval of the polio vaccine.

Kansas City Star: Opinion: RFK Jr.’s Anti-vax Views Haven’t Changed Since He Spoke in Kansas Last Year
By Yvette Walker, The Kansas City Star’s opinion editor and leader of its editorial board.

• It’s hard to say which Trump nominee will have the toughest battle for confirmation, because most of his choices are staggering. But I can say with confidence that Kennedy could do the most damage if he runs roughshod through the health policies and safeguards our country relies on. For example, CBS News reported that Trump planned to speak with him about ending childhood vaccine programs.

Los Angeles Times: Opinion: My Son Has Autism. His Life Tells a Story RFK Jr. Ignores
By Susan Hall, writer in Michigan. 

• With his inaccurate stance that vaccines should be avoided to prevent autism, Kennedy suggests that chancing severe childhood diseases would be preferable to a life like my son’s. Diagnosed at age 1 with a rare seizure disorder that stalled his cognitive development, and later with intellectual disability and autism, my son today is a smart, charming 25-year-old with a great sense of humor. He’s exploding with independence and has cultivated passions of his own: lawn mowing and country music, to start with.

NJ.com: Opinion: RFK Jr. Is Here to Stuff Your Stocking
By Drew Sheneman, cartoonist. 

• In the short time since he was named as Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to remove fluoride from the drinking water and announced his intention to repeal approval of the polio vaccine. Neither of these actions seem to to be conducive to health or humans, so maybe RFK Jr. and his brain worm aren’t the best choice to lead an agency devoted to the promotion and welfare of both.

Foreword by Hawaii Governor Josh Green

Read the Report Here.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Protect Our Care is releasing a new national report with a foreword from Hawaii Governor Josh Green. The report details Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s role in the deadly measles outbreak in Samoa and the danger he poses to the health and well-being of millions of Americans if confirmed as the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In 2019, RFK Jr. visited the island nation of Samoa to spread anti-vaccination conspiracy theories, which led to the deaths of 83 people, primarily infants and children. To this day, he refuses to take responsibility and continues to oppose lifesaving vaccines, saying he “does not believe that infectious disease is an enormous threat to human health.”

RFK Jr. is unqualified and holds dangerous anti-science and anti-vaccination policy positions, ready to put his personal interests ahead of the health and safety of the American people. Under his leadership, more people will get sick and die – especially children. 

“As a firsthand witness of the tragedy in Samoa, I am certain that the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be devastating for the health of the American people,” said Hawaii Governor Josh Green. “Vaccine misinformation is deadly, period. For years, Kennedy has fueled misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccinations and other public health measures that keep people safe. He is unfit to lead our nation’s health care system.”

“What RFK Jr. did to Samoa he will do to America. RFK Jr. poses a life-or-death threat to millions of Americans if confirmed as HHS Secretary,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “RFK Jr. has said that ‘no vaccine is safe and effective.’ His opposition to vaccines will lead to a resurgence of deadly childhood diseases like polio and measles. He supports defunding lifesaving research that is used to develop treatments and cures for diseases. RFK Jr. rejects proven science that keeps people healthy and if he is put in a position like HHS secretary, the damage would be catastrophic.”

Timeline of Events:

2018

• Two children in Samoa died after receiving their MMR vaccine as a result of nurses improperly mixing the vaccines with a liquid muscle relaxant instead of water. The nurses were sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter.
• RFK Jr’s Children’s Health Defense posted on Facebook questioning the safety of measles vaccines.
• The World Health Organization estimated that in 2018, only 31 percent of infants in Samoa received the measles vaccine, a drop from 60 to 70 percent in previous years.
• RFK Jr’s Children’s Health Defense never updated the public about the true cause of the babies’ deaths.

2019

• While vaccination rates were dropping, Kennedy traveled to Samoa in June 2019, meeting with the Prime Minister and other government officials. The trip had been arranged by a prominent Samoan anti-vaccine activist, and paid for by Children’s Health Defense. RFK Jr. appeared with government officials and local anti-vaccine activists.
• The measles outbreak began in September 2019.
• A state of emergency was declared in November 2019, closing all schools, keeping children under 17 away from public events, and mandating vaccines.
• The anti-vaccine activists with ties to Kennedy used misinformation and harsh rhetoric to oppose the government’s efforts in containing the outbreak.
• By January 22, 2020, 5,707 measles cases and 83 measles-related deaths were reported. 87 percent of the reported deaths were children younger than 5 years.

The GOP war on Medicaid is alive and well. Republicans are targeting Medicaid for deep budget cuts as part of a reconciliation bill coming early next year in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. Medicaid is an essential pillar of our health care system. It is the largest health insurance program in the country, providing health care to more than 70 million Americans — nearly a quarter of the country. Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal government and the states, and it is supported by 76 percent of Americans. It covers one in five Americans, including kids, moms, seniors, people of color, rural Americans, and people with disabilities. 

Five key ways Republicans could cut federal Medicaid funding and leave millions of Americans uninsured and unable to afford health care include: imposing lifetime caps on coverage, slashing the federal matching rate for traditional Medicaid and Medicaid expansion, implementing bureaucratic reporting requirements, block granting Medicaid, and introducing per capita caps. All of these policies mean that millions would lose their coverage, state budgets would be strained, and rural hospitals would be more likely to close. Every family knows someone who counts on Medicaid. If MAGA Republicans get their way, Medicaid will be decimated — taking health care away from hardworking families across the country all to pay for more tax breaks for the wealthy. 

By The Numbers

• Republican threats to Medicaid put health care at risk for 72 million (21 percent) of Americans including:

• • 31.5 million children
  • 9.1 million people with disabilities
  • 8.3 million seniors

• Republicans will create a $50 billion hole in state Medicaid budgets to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations. 
• If Republicans decrease federal funding for people in the Medicaid expansion population, it would immediately rip health care away from over 4.2 million Americans across eleven states and jeopardize health care for about 21 million people.
• Republicans threaten care for 18.5 million people on Medicaid by imposing lifetime caps.
• Republicans could deny coverage to 21 million Americans through burdensome bureaucratic reporting requirements.

Five Ways The GOP Plans To Gut Medicaid

1. The GOP Will Impose Lifetime Caps For People On Medicaid. Republicans want to enact the Project 2025 playbook by imposing lifetime caps for people on Medicaid. Proposals have suggested people remain eligible for just 36 months, potentially over their entire lifetime. If enacted, the Center For American Progress found that these caps would strip benefits from hardworking families and people with complex medical conditions, particularly in states that have not expanded Medicaid, endangering coverage for the 18.5 million people with Medicaid who qualify based on income alone.
2. Republicans Want To Slash Federal Funding for Medicaid By Reducing the Amount of Federal Funding That Matches State Medicaid Funding. As part of their plans to slash spending, Republicans could achieve their longtime goal of eliminating federal funding for Medicaid expansion and decreasing funding for traditional Medicaid. The Affordable Care Act provided for states to expand Medicaid eligibility by offering matching federal funds as an incentive. Some recent proposals have suggested lowering the federal match rate to 90 percent or lower, which would create a $50 billion hole in state Medicaid budgets. Research shows Medicaid expansion improves people’s health, keeps hospitals open, increases families’ financial security, and saves lives – and, in turn, helps reduce racial and ethnic, rural, and other health disparities. As of 2024, 41 states (including DC) have expanded Medicaid under the ACA. However, eleven of these states – Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Utah – have a trigger law, which means that health care will be at risk or immediately be ripped away from 4,291,000 people across the country if the GOP succeeds in gutting funding for Medicaid expansion.
3. Republicans Want To Impose Burdensome Bureaucratic Reporting Requirements. Several recent Republican budget proposals have included plans to introduce bureaucratic work reporting requirements as a mandatory part of Medicaid enrollment and verification. By imposing work reporting requirements, Republicans are only seeking to cut Medicaid and kick millions of people off the rolls. Research shows that work reporting requirements cost states money and do not improve people’s ability to find work. In Georgia, a GOP alternative to Medicaid expansion emphasizing work requirements cost taxpayers $26 million, only provided coverage to 3,500 people, and resulted in consulting firms pocketing 90 percent of the funding. If Republicans succeed in implementing work reporting requirements, up to 21 million Americans could be denied Medicaid coverage.
4. Republicans Want To Radically Restructure Medicaid Through Block Grants, Resulting In Deep Cuts. Another way MAGA Republicans want to radically restructure Medicaid is by changing it into five block grants. In March, the Republican Study Committee released a proposal to do just that. Block grants would shift costs to states and inevitably result in deep cuts to Medicaid programs by capping the amount of federal Medicaid funding states receive. As CBPP found in 2017, a block grant would force states to make deep cuts to their Medicaid programs to compensate for the federal funding cuts. Currently, the federal government pays between 50 percent and 77 percent of enrollees’ Medicaid costs, and more for certain high-value services. Republicans’ proposals to slash billions in federal funding from Medicaid would strain state budgets and leave tens of millions of people uninsured.
5. Republicans Want To Introduce Per Capita Caps For Medicaid, Shifting Costs To States. Past Republican budget proposals have established a per capita cap for states on Medicaid enrollment. This type of spending cap imposes a restriction on the amount the federal government will contribute per capita to states’ Medicaid budgets. The proposals also increase the amount states must contribute to their Medicaid programs. In practice, per capita caps only increase costs for Medicaid beneficiaries – often in the form of higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs, all but ensuring that even if one qualifies for Medicaid, the services may not be affordable. It also means Medicaid would not have the flexibility to take on an influx of new patients during public health emergencies.

Allowing the Inflation Reduction Act’s Enhanced Premium Tax Credits to Expire Will Result in 5 Million Losing Insurance and Premium Hikes for 20 Million Americans

Washington D.C. — Yesterday, Congressional leaders released the text of their short-term spending bill. After weeks of negotiations, Republicans refused to extend the health care enhanced premium tax credits for one year. These tax credits, which lowered the cost of health care for millions of people purchasing coverage on their own, are set to expire at the end of 2025. If Congress fails to act, an estimated 5 million Americans would become uninsured and costs would skyrocket for millions more. In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement: 

“Republicans have made clear that they support premium hikes for 20 million Americans. They are more focused on delivering tax breaks to their wealthy friends than keeping health care affordable for their constituents. Republicans will force middle-class families to spend up to 90 percent more for their health insurance. As a result, health care costs will skyrocket for small business owners, people living in rural areas, farmers, people with pre-existing conditions, and older adults. If Republicans let these tax credits expire, the GOP will own this premium hike for middle-class families and the coverage losses for millions that come with it.” 

Protect Our Care Launches Mobile Billboard in Washington D.C.

Watch the Mobile Billboard Here.

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, December 17, a mobile billboard will circle Capitol Hill, calling on senators to oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This week, Protect Our Care’s “Stop RFK War Room” is running a multi-media campaign to educate people on why RFK Jr. is unfit for the job and the insurmountable damage he could do if confirmed. Yesterday, the “Stop RFK War Room” released 18 billboards in seven states as well as paid digital ads that will continue to run in key states and Washington, D.C. The campaign comes as RFK Jr. is set to meet with at least 20 Republicans as part of the confirmation process. 

The “Stop RFK War Room” is focusing its events and activities on the following Senators: Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Curtis (R-UT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Jim Justice (R-WV).

“We are working to make sure everyone on Capital Hill understands the catastrophic consequences of this nomination that will touch nearly every household in the nation.” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “RFK Jr.’s focus will be pushing radical policies that put millions at risk. He believes no vaccine is safe or effective and has pledged to stop funding research for treatments and cures to deadly diseases. His beliefs could lead to a deadly resurgence of preventable childhood illnesses like polio and measles. RFK Jr. won’t follow the science or trust the experts – he embraces fringe ideas and promotes conspiracies. That’s the last thing we need in charge of America’s health care.”

Mobile Billboard Script:

Narrator: Robert F Kennedy Jr. is no health care leader. He’s a threat to your family’s health. RFK Jr. spreads deadly lies about vaccines, calling them unsafe and ineffective. His conspiracy theories fueled a measles outbreak in Samoa, killing 83 people, mostly babies and toddlers.

CNN Clip: RFK went and rallied that country against vaccinations. It resulted in the deaths of 83 innocent children. 

Narrator: Now he’s been nominated to oversee America’s health care system – Medicare, Medicaid, vaccines, research. The health of every American is at stake. 

RFK Jr.: There’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective. 

Narrator: He’d defund life-saving research and drug development, gut the FDA, let diseases like polio and measles resurge. This isn’t leadership. It’s a death sentence. Tell your Senators: reject RFK Jr. He’s not just unfit, he’s dangerous.

RFK Jr. Has Said He Believes “There’s No Vaccine That Is Safe and Effective”

SHOT: RFK Jr. Claims He’s “All For The Polio Vaccine” After Decades Of Work Undermining Vaccine Access. “RFK Jr., Trump’s pick for HHS, arrives at Capitol Hill to meet with Senators and gain their support. As he made his way to Sen. Rick Scott’s office he was asked about the polio vaccine and he mumbled ‘I’m all for the polio vaccine.’” [Cristina Corujo (CBS News), X, 12/16/24]

CHASER: RFK Jr. Spread Conspiracy Theories That The Polio Vaccine “Cause[d] More Death Than It Avert[ed].” During a July 2023 interview with Lex Fridman, when asked about the polio vaccine, Kennedy launched into a conspiracy-laden tirade: “Well, here’s the problem. Here’s the problem. Yeah, here’s the problem. The polio vaccine contained a virus called simian virus 40. SV40. It’s one of the most carcinogenic materials that is known to man. In fact, it’s used now by scientists around the world to induce tumors and rats and Guinea pigs in labs. But it was in that vaccine, 98 million people who got that vaccine. And my generation got it. And now you’ve had this explosion of soft tissue cancers in our generation that killed many, many, many more people than polio ever did. […] If you say to me, ‘Did it cause more death than it averted?’ I would say, ‘I don’t know, because we don’t have the data on that.” Kennedy’s organization, Children’s Health Defense, also spread false reports calling into question the safety and necessity of polio vaccinations during a 2022 resurgence in the virus.

LIME: RFK Jr.’s Lawyer Petitioned the FDA To Revoke The Polio Vaccine. “The concerns have amped up in recent days following a report that an ally of Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a citizen petition in 2022 to revoke the approval of polio vaccines for infants and children. Attorney Aaron Siri has also joined Kennedy in questioning and choosing candidates for top health positions, the New York Times reported, citing an unnamed source who witnessed the interactions.” [Axios, 12/16/24]