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Former USPSTF chair Michael Silverstein wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine that AHRQ leadership blocked publication of the task force’s recommendations, including a final cervical cancer screening guideline, and that no recommendation has been published since July 2025. He attributes the actions to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hostility toward the panel.
The leadership of the federal agency that oversees the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) suppressed the panel’s prevention recommendations, according to a commentary by former task force chair Dr. Michael Silverstein of Brown University published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Silverstein wrote that the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) blocked the task force’s final recommendation on cervical cancer screening in fall 2025, and that the panel has not published a single recommendation since July 2025.
According to Silverstein, the cervical cancer screening recommendation had completed the panel’s full process: a draft recommendation was finished, a public comment period was held, and hundreds of public comments were incorporated into a final version. Despite that, the AHRQ director blocked its release. Silverstein also wrote that task force members were prevented from voting on a recommendation addressing cardiovascular disease prevention through healthy lifestyle interventions because meetings were cancelled.
Silverstein tied the actions to the second Trump administration, writing that it became clear early on that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “had a particular disdain for the task force.” After a March 2025 meeting, Kennedy cancelled regular task force meetings, including those scheduled for July and November 2025, according to the commentary. By February 2026, several former members said they feared Kennedy planned to eliminate the panel; instead, a March meeting was cancelled with a promise to reschedule.
In May 2026, Kennedy fired the task force’s two vice chairs — Dr. John Wong of Tufts Medical Center and Dr. Esa Davis of the University of Maryland — while saying they could reapply. At that point, eight of the panel’s 16 seats were vacant, and the statutorily required annual report was not issued. Earlier this month, Kennedy appointed eight new members, restoring the panel to full strength; the new slate includes cardiologists, a gastroenterologist, a radiologist, an artificial intelligence expert, and a health insurance expert. Neither fired vice chair is currently a member.
Stakes for Patients and Insurers
Silverstein warned that the publication freeze has practical consequences: primary care providers “may be following cancer, heart disease, or other prevention guidelines that are based on outdated evidence, and Americans are possibly being denied insurance coverage for highly effective services.” USPSTF recommendations carry an “A” or “B” grade typically require coverage without cost-sharing under the Affordable Care Act, so delayed or blocked guidance can affect both clinical practice and what services insurers must cover.
The episode also raises questions about the independence of the federal evidence-review process. The USPSTF has historically operated as a volunteer panel of primary care and prevention experts; American Medical Association President Dr. Willie Underwood III said the new membership slate represents “a departure” from that tradition. Critics, including Silverstein, frame the changes as political interference in scientific review, while Kennedy has defended his actions by calling the panel “lackadaisical and negligent” over the past 20 years and promising new members “who have a clear mission.”
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How the Task Force Lost Its Quorum
The USPSTF is a volunteer expert panel convened under AHRQ that issues evidence-based recommendations on preventive services such as cancer screenings. Silverstein wrote that despite meeting cancellations, members continued to meet virtually on a weekly schedule to continue their work.
The panel’s decline accelerated in 2026: five members’ terms expired at the end of 2025 with no replacements appointed, vacancies piled up, the required annual report went unissued, and the two vice chairs were dismissed in May. The full timeline — the March 2025 meeting followed by cancellations, the February 2026 fears of elimination, the April congressional testimony, the May firings, and the recent appointments — is drawn from Silverstein’s commentary and reporting by MedPage Today.
“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.'”
— HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., before a House committee in April
Unverified Claims and Open Questions
Silverstein’s account of suppression is an allegation by a former official, not an independent finding; AHRQ and HHS have not, in the material reviewed, publicly responded to his specific claims about the blocked cervical cancer recommendation. The exact role of the AHRQ director versus HHS leadership in each decision is not fully detailed. It is unclear whether the newly appointed panel will revisit, revise, or release the stalled recommendations, including the cervical cancer screening guideline and the cardiovascular prevention statement that was never voted on. Kennedy’s office has not said whether the cancelled March meeting will be rescheduled.
Whether New Members Publish Stalled Guidance
The newly reconstituted task force, now at full strength, faces a backlog: the blocked cervical cancer screening recommendation, the unvoted cardiovascular prevention statement, and the unissued annual report. Watch for whether the panel’s next meeting is scheduled, whether Kennedy’s promised rescheduling occurs, and whether the new members — including the AI and health insurance experts — publish updated guidelines or depart from prior USPSTF methods. Congressional oversight and responses from medical societies may also shape what happens next.
Key Questions
What is the USPSTF and why do its recommendations matter?
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is a volunteer expert panel that issues evidence-based recommendations on preventive services, such as cancer screenings. Services graded “A” or “B” are generally covered by insurers without cost-sharing under the Affordable Care Act.
What exactly does Dr. Silverstein allege?
He says the AHRQ director blocked the task force’s final cervical cancer screening recommendation in fall 2025, that cancelled meetings prevented a vote on a cardiovascular prevention recommendation, and that no recommendation has been published since July 2025.
Has the HHS or AHRQ responded to the allegations?
According to the available reporting, neither agency has publicly responded to the specific claims in Silverstein’s commentary. Kennedy has separately defended his restructuring of the panel, calling it “lackadaisical and negligent” for the past 20 years.
Who are the new task force members?
In recent weeks, Kennedy appointed eight new members, including cardiologists, a gastroenterologist, a radiologist, an artificial intelligence expert, and a health insurance expert. The two fired vice chairs, Dr. John Wong and Dr. Esa Davis, are not among them.
Could the blocked recommendations still be published?
It is unclear. The final cervical cancer screening recommendation exists but was blocked from publication; whether the new panel releases it, revises it, or sets it aside has not been announced.
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