UPDATE 2-US Health Secretary Kennedy to oust members of US preventive task force, WSJ reports

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to remove all the members of an advisory panel that determines what cancer screenings and other preventive health measures insurers must cover, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Kennedy plans to dismiss all 16 panel members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, according to the WSJ report. This is the latest in a series of far-reaching actions by Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic, to reshape U.S. regulation of vaccines, food and medicine.

In June, Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), replacing them with eight new members including known vaccine skeptics. The USPSTF includes medical experts serving four-year terms on a volunteer basis and has a major role in choosing what services will be covered under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld

the constitution of the task force and ruled in favor of its recommendation to cover preventive care such as cancer screenings and HIV prevention medication at no cost to patients. Its members are selected by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services without Senate confirmation.

The HHS and the USPSTF did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

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