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Former USPSTF chair Michael Silverstein says AHRQ leadership blocked a completed cervical cancer screening recommendation in fall 2025 and meeting cancellations prevented a vote on cardiovascular prevention advice. The task force has published no recommendations since July 2025, according to Silverstein; eight new members were appointed earlier this month, but the blocked recommendations’ status is unclear.
Silverstein said the cervical screening recommendation had gone through a public comment period, with hundreds of comments incorporated into a final recommendation. He said the AHRQ director then blocked it. His commentary does not identify a public explanation from the agency for that decision, and the supplied material does not include an AHRQ response.
He also said members could not vote on advice about preventing cardiovascular disease through healthy lifestyle interventions because meetings were canceled. Silverstein reported that, despite the cancellations, volunteer members continued meeting virtually each week. The task force’s annual report, which it is required to issue, was also not released, according to the report.
Earlier this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed eight members, restoring the panel to its full 16 seats. The new 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 current members.
Delays Could Affect Preventive Care
The task force’s recommendations can shape which preventive services insurers cover without cost-sharing under federal law. Silverstein warned that delays may leave primary care providers relying on guidance based on outdated evidence and could affect patients’ access to services. Those are risks he identified; the supplied material does not establish that coverage has already changed or that patients have been denied care because of these specific delays.
The appointments also matter because the panel’s makeup may affect its future work. American Medical Association President Willie Underwood III said the new slate departs from the task force’s customary composition of primary care physicians and preventive medicine experts. The effect of that change on recommendations is not yet known.
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Cancellations and Leadership Changes
Silverstein wrote that Kennedy showed disdain for the task force early in the second Trump administration. After it met in March 2025, Kennedy canceled regular meetings, including those scheduled for July and November, according to Silverstein’s account. By February 2026, former members feared the task force might be eliminated; Kennedy canceled a March meeting 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 in members with a “clear mission.” In May, he fired vice chairs Wong and Davis, saying they could reapply. Eight of the 16 seats were then vacant, in part because five members’ terms had expired at the end of 2025 and replacements had not been appointed. The eight appointments earlier this month filled the vacancies.
“The task force had been “lackadaisical and negligent” for the last 20 years, and he would be “bringing new members on who have a clear mission.””
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaking to a House committee in April
Status of Recommendations Remains Unknown
The supplied report does not say whether the cervical cancer screening recommendation will be published, revised or withdrawn, or when members may vote on the cardiovascular prevention recommendation. It also does not provide an explanation from AHRQ for the blocked recommendation or meeting cancellations.
Although Kennedy said the canceled March meeting would be rescheduled in the coming months, the account does not give a confirmed date. The task force’s annual report also remains unissued in the source material. It is not clear how the new members will handle the pending work or whether they will adopt the same recommendations previously developed by the panel.
Pending Work Awaits a Timetable
The immediate questions are when the task force will meet, whether the delayed recommendations will return for consideration and when its required annual report will be released. Kennedy had said the canceled March meeting would be rescheduled, but no date is provided in the report. The new members are now in place; the next public meeting or agency announcement may clarify the panel’s priorities and the status of its unfinished recommendations.
Key Questions
What does Silverstein say was blocked?
He says the AHRQ director blocked a completed final recommendation on cervical cancer screening in fall 2025. He also says canceled meetings prevented a vote on advice about preventing cardiovascular disease through healthy lifestyle interventions.
Has the task force published recommendations since July 2025?
Silverstein wrote that the task force had been blocked from publishing any recommendations since July 2025. The supplied report does not include an agency statement addressing that account.
Who is on the task force now?
Kennedy appointed eight members earlier this month, bringing the panel to 16 members. The new appointees include specialists in cardiology, gastroenterology, radiology, artificial intelligence and health insurance. Former vice chairs John Wong and Esa Davis are not members.
Why could delayed recommendations matter to patients?
Task force recommendations can affect insurance coverage for preventive services. Silverstein warned that delays could leave clinicians using guidance based on older evidence and could affect coverage, but the supplied material does not confirm a specific coverage change or patient denial tied to these recommendations.
When will the pending recommendations be considered?
No date is given. Kennedy said a canceled March meeting would be rescheduled in the coming months, but the report does not confirm that a new meeting has been set.
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