Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed eight new members to the 16-person US Preventive Services Task Force, which makes evidence-based recommendations on services including cancer screenings, depression checks and statin use. Because insurers must cover services receiving an A or B rating without charge, the appointments could directly affect Americans’ access to preventive healthcare and have raised concerns about political interference.

Critics say the new members depart from the panel’s traditional emphasis on primary-care practitioners and include specialists, a health economist and people who have criticised COVID-19 vaccines or gender-affirming care. The task force’s meetings were halted for more than a year, its conflict-of-interest policy has temporarily disappeared from its website, and nominee-selection records remain unavailable despite requests and a lawsuit by The New York Times.