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Former USPSTF chair Michael Silverstein says the head of the agency overseeing the task force blocked its completed cervical cancer screening recommendation in fall 2025 and canceled meetings that prevented a vote on cardiovascular prevention guidance. The administration appointed eight new members earlier this month, but no USPSTF recommendation has been published since July 2025, according to Silverstein.
Former U.S. Preventive Services Task Force chair Michael Silverstein says leadership at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality blocked a completed cervical cancer screening recommendation in fall 2025 and that canceled meetings prevented a vote on cardiovascular prevention guidance. The allegations, published in a commentary in the Annals of Internal Medicine, come as the administration has appointed eight new task force members after months of vacancies and delays.
Silverstein, of Brown University, wrote that the task force had completed a draft recommendation on cervical cancer screening, held a public comment period and incorporated hundreds of comments into a final recommendation. He said the AHRQ director blocked that recommendation before publication. The provided report does not identify the director by name or include a response from AHRQ to Silverstein’s allegation.
He also said members could not vote on a recommendation about preventing cardiovascular disease through healthy lifestyle interventions because meetings were canceled. According to Silverstein, the task force has not published any recommendation since July 2025, although its volunteer members continued meeting virtually each week. The task force’s annual report, which it is required to release each year, was also not issued, the report said.
Earlier this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed eight members, returning the 16-seat task force to full strength. The appointees include cardiologists, a gastroenterologist, a radiologist, an artificial intelligence specialist and a health insurance expert. Former vice chairs John Wong and Esa Davis, whom Kennedy fired in May, are not among the new members.
Delays Affect Preventive Care Guidance
USPSTF recommendations can shape preventive care in primary care settings and affect whether insurers cover certain services. Silverstein warned that without updated guidance, providers may rely on recommendations based on older evidence and Americans could lose insurance coverage for effective preventive services. Those are his stated concerns; the supplied reporting does not establish that patients have already lost coverage or received outdated care as a result.
The dispute also concerns how scientific recommendations are developed and published within a federal health agency. The task force’s full membership has been restored, but the available account does not say whether the new members will be able to complete and publish pending work without further interruption.
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How Task Force Work Stalled
Silverstein wrote that Kennedy showed disdain for the task force early in the second Trump administration. After a March 2025 meeting, Kennedy canceled regular meetings, including sessions planned for July and November, according to the report. Several former members said in February 2026 that they feared the task force could be eliminated; Kennedy instead canceled its next scheduled meeting, set for March, and said it would be rescheduled in the coming months.
In April, Kennedy told a House committee that the task force had been “lackadaisical and negligent” for 20 years and said he would bring on members with a clear mission. In May, he fired vice chairs Wong and Davis, while saying they could reapply. At that time, eight of the 16 seats were vacant, largely because five members’ terms had expired at the end of 2025 and replacements had not been appointed. The American Medical Association president said the new roster departed from the task force’s usual composition of primary care doctors and preventive medicine experts.
“Lackadaisical and negligent”
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS secretary, speaking to a House committee in April
Publication Timeline Remains Unknown
The supplied report does not include a response from AHRQ or HHS addressing Silverstein’s account of the blocked cervical cancer recommendation or canceled meetings. It is also unclear when the delayed recommendations or the missing annual report will be published, whether the new members will revisit work already completed, and whether Wong or Davis will reapply for their former positions.
New Members Face Pending Work
The task force is back to its full 16-member complement, but the next steps and schedule for its work have not been specified in the supplied report. Readers can expect further developments when the task force sets meeting dates, acts on pending recommendations or releases its annual report. No publication date for the cervical cancer or cardiovascular prevention guidance has been announced in the available account.
Key Questions
What does Silverstein say the administration blocked?
He says the AHRQ director blocked a completed cervical cancer screening recommendation in fall 2025. He also says canceled meetings prevented a vote on cardiovascular disease prevention guidance.
Has the task force published recommendations since July 2025?
Silverstein wrote that it had not published any recommendations since July 2025. The supplied report does not provide a separate agency confirmation.
Who was appointed to the task force?
Kennedy appointed eight members earlier this month, including experts in cardiology, gastroenterology, radiology, artificial intelligence and health insurance. Their names are not provided in the source material.
What remains unknown?
The publication dates for delayed guidance and the annual report are unknown. The source material also does not include an AHRQ or HHS response to Silverstein’s allegations.
Source: rss
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