In a statement Thursday, Willie Underwood, President of the American Medical Association, called Kennedy’s new slate of members “a significant departure from the Task Force’s traditional membership.”
USPSTF’s “credibility has been built on a membership grounded in prevention and primary care—the physicians who routinely deliver preventive services and understand how recommendations translate into clinical practice,” Underwood said. “We believe maintaining a strong primary care voice must remain central to its work.” He added that as this new panel gets to work, its recommendations must also “continue to be based on a transparent, rigorous, independent scientific process.”
That transparency is already in question. The New York Times noted that the nomination and selection process for new USPSTF members is supposed to be transparent and available to the public, but they have not been made available. Times reporters said they have repeatedly requested the materials on the nominees, including in an in-person request and through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The Times filed a lawsuit for them in August. They still have not received the materials.
Here are the new members:
Seth Corey, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Cleveland Clinic, who donated to a Donald Trump super PAC, as reported by Stat News.
Patrick Hunter, a pediatrician at Pensacola Pediatrics in Florida, who has been critical of gender-affirming care for minors and suggested it leads to violence.
Ronald Karlsberg, a cardiologist and clinical professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Venkatesh Murthy, a professor of preventive cardiology at the University of Michigan, who has been critical of COVID-19 vaccines.
Stephen Parente, a health economist and finance professor at the University of Minnesota’s School of Management. In Trump’s first term, Parente served as a senior economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisors. Trump nominated him to be the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the US health department, a role that requires Senate confirmation. His nomination was eventually withdrawn after concerns about financial conflicts.
Goldie Stands-Over-Bull, a family medicine physician at Texas Native Health.
Louis Wilson, a gastroenterologist at Wichita Falls Gastroenterology Associates in Texas.
Dennis Wulfeck, a radiologist at RadPartners MBB Radiology in Florida.