Health Secretary Kennedy appoints eight specialists to vacant Preventive Services Task Force

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., serving as health secretary, announced eight new members for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, ending a period of extensive vacancies. The slate includes specialists in clinical nutrition, gastroenterology, oncology and a professor of finance with health-insurance expertise, marking a shift from the panel’s historic reliance on generalists. Seth Corey, who practices pediatric hematology-oncology at the Cleveland Clinic, has been named chair, replacing Michael Silverstein who left last year.

Earlier this year Kennedy removed vice chairs John Wong and Esa Davis, and the task force had not convened for over a year. The independent body’s assessments guide whether insurers must cover preventive measures like mammograms and HIV-prevention drugs. Its last public update dated back to August 2025, when it was working on recommendations for breast-cancer genetic screening, autism screening in children, and cervical-cancer screening. Kennedy’s authority to reshuffle the panel stems from a 2025 Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management.