Healthcare industry supports RFK Jr.

President-elect Donald Trump's decision Nominates vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy's decision to lead HHS was controversial last week, with some politicians and industry groups praising his anti-establishment ideas while raising concerns that his leadership would set the nation back on public health fronts. Some people were concerned that this might not be the case.

Kennedy has espoused a number of controversial views on health care in recent years. Wi-Fi causes cancerthe Food and Drug Administration “war on public health” and that AIDS may not be caused by HIV.

If confirmed, Kennedy would oversee an 80,000-person department that includes the FDA and CMS, which provide insurance to more than 160 million people. Trump promised to pardon Kennedy. have free reign Regarding medical policy.

President Kennedy has not yet announced his policies, but he has expressed interest in curbing the influence of pharmaceutical companies, promoting alternative medicine, and reducing the number of medical professionals working within HHS.

“What we don't really need at HHS is more medical expertise. What we need is expertise to separate HHS from systemic corruption,” Kennedy said at a town hall in September. Because it is corruption that distorts science.”

Such comments alarmed some public health experts, including Brown University School of Public Health Dean Ashish Jha, who served as the White House COVID-19 response coordinator from 2022 to 2023. .

“This is a very bad choice for the health of the American people,” Jha wrote on Thursday X. “His ideas may sound good as bumper stickers, but they are not serious and are often downright harmful.”

Hugh Taylor, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, echoed similar sentiments.

“We use this large platform and role to embrace established science, defend medical and scientific advances, debunk disproven conspiracy theories, and raise dangerous concerns on topics such as vaccine safety and effectiveness. We must reduce the spread of misinformation,” Taylor said in a statement to Healthcare. diving. “Mr. Kennedy shockingly fails to meet these important qualifications.”

Focus on vaccines

President Kennedy has said that he is not anti-vaccine, but the track record to date suggests that he is deeply skeptical of vaccines. Kennedy wrote: Paper linking vaccines and autism has now been retracted In 2005, he made controversial comments about vaccines during the pandemic.

He also promoted a book by X that claims coronavirus vaccines are contributing to mass sudden deaths, says most vaccines are poorly tested and children don't need them. he claimed.

kennedys The nomination is supported by groups opposed to mandatory vaccinations. Citizens Council for Health Freedom, and please come to: Polio and measles cases are on the rise Misinformation about vaccines is a contributing factor, but this is the first time in years.

Twila Blais, co-founder and president of the Citizens Council for Healthy Civil Liberties, said Kennedy's nomination marks a “180-degree change of government in Washington, D.C.'s public health establishment.”

“We will know more truths, reduce the number of bureaucracies, and hopefully, combined with a new Department of Government Efficiency, less tax dollars will be wasted on political projects that violate people's patient, parental, and privacy rights. We look forward to seeing you,” Brace said. In a statement to Healthcare Dive, he said:

Other healthcare industry groups — including American Public Health Association and American Academy of Pediatrics — denied the nomination.

“A serious candidate for this role will follow decades of real-world evidence showing that vaccines are safe and prevent up to 5 million deaths each year,” APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin said in a statement. Probably.'' statement Monday.

The head of the FDA's vaccination program simply asked Kennedy:keep an open mind” About vaccines.

Even if Kennedy did not cancel or reduce long-standing federal funding for vaccination programs;What matters is sentiment, stance and outlook,” Jefferies analysts said in a note issued Thursday.

“This impacts biotech investors' views on how FDA and other HHS issues will develop (i.e., not accelerating drugs and probiotechs),” the analysts said. Ta.

Stock prices of major vaccine makers fell following Kennedy's nomination. Moderna and Pfizer were the hardest hit, with prices down about 6% and 4%, respectively, as of Wednesday morning.

Prepare for impact

Mr. Kennedy is likely to face intense scrutiny during his confirmation hearings. The Democratic Party has already announced that it will aim to block the nomination.

“When Mr. Kennedy appears on the Treasury Committee, it will become abundantly clear what Americans stand to lose under President Trump and Republicans in Congress,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement. Ta.

Democrats lack control of Congress, so they won't be able to block Kennedy alone. But the tough nature of some of Kennedy's beliefs could help build coalitions across the aisle, said Jerome Adams, who served as the U.S. Surgeon General during the first Trump administration.

“(Republican) senators (and governors) don't want their policies to be derailed by measles and polio outbreaks in their states,” Adams told X.

But other senators, including Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), the incoming chairman of the powerful Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said they were eager to learn more about Kennedy's thinking. Ta.

“RFK Jr. has championed issues such as healthy food and the need for greater transparency in public health infrastructure,” Cassidy said. “I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they support conservative and pro-American policies.”

Analysts predict that if Kennedy is appointed, HHS could change its tune regarding advances in medicine, particularly popular weight-loss drugs.

Kennedy previously suggested that patients taking GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic for weight loss should transition to a healthy food diet instead. Shares in Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic, fell 4% by Wednesday morning after Kennedy's nomination.

Meanwhile, President Kennedy launched a major overhaul of HHS, including cutting entire departments at the FDA and dedicating half of the National Institutes of Health's research budget to “preventive, alternative, and comprehensive approaches to health.” I'm looking for it.

Despite President Kennedy's lofty reform goals, some experts predict that ultimately his impact on health care will be limited.

“I can't think of an example where a Cabinet Secretary came in and decided to change everything, and everything changed overnight. It's kind of the antithesis of how government works,” said Hal Andrews, president and CEO of health care analytics firm Trilliant Health.