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Former USPSTF chair Michael Silverstein says the task force’s cervical cancer screening recommendation was blocked in fall 2025 and that canceled meetings prevented a vote on a cardiovascular prevention recommendation. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed eight members this month, restoring the panel to full strength, but no recommendation has been published since July 2025, according to Silverstein.
Former U.S. Preventive Services Task Force chair Michael Silverstein says federal health agency leadership blocked the panel’s final cervical cancer screening recommendation in fall 2025 and that canceled meetings kept members from voting on a separate cardiovascular prevention recommendation. His account, published in a commentary in the Annals of Internal Medicine, raises questions about whether the independent expert panel can issue timely preventive care guidance; the Department of Health and Human Services has since appointed eight new members.
Silverstein, a physician at Brown University, wrote that the cervical cancer recommendation had completed the task force’s draft and public comment stages. The panel incorporated hundreds of public comments into a final recommendation, he said, but the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which oversees the task force, blocked it from publication. The source report does not provide the recommendation’s proposed wording or the agency’s explanation for blocking it.
Silverstein also said canceled meetings prevented members from voting on a recommendation about healthy lifestyle interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease. He wrote that the task force had been unable to publish any recommendation since July 2025, despite members continuing to meet virtually each week. That account describes the former chair’s assessment; the supplied reporting does not include a response from AHRQ or HHS addressing the specific allegations.
The panel’s membership and schedule also changed during the period. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled regular meetings, including those planned for July and November 2025, Silverstein wrote. In May, Kennedy dismissed vice chairs John Wong and Esa Davis, while saying they could reapply. Earlier this month, Kennedy appointed eight members, restoring the 16-seat task force to full strength. Wong and Davis are not among the current members, according to the report.
Guidance Affects Preventive Care
USPSTF recommendations can shape which preventive services insurers cover without cost sharing under federal law, making the publication of guidance relevant to patients and clinicians as well as researchers. Silverstein warned that delays could leave primary care providers using guidance based on older evidence and could mean Americans are denied insurance coverage for services that later receive favorable recommendations. Those are potential consequences he identified; the supplied material does not establish that specific patients lost coverage because of the blocked recommendation.
The dispute also concerns how scientific advice is produced within a federal health agency. The task force relies on evidence reviews and public comment before issuing recommendations. If completed work is delayed, clinicians may have less current guidance on screening and prevention, while the reason for any particular delay remains important to understanding the process.
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Cancellations and Vacant Seats
Silverstein traced the strain on the task force to the period after the second Trump administration began. He wrote that Kennedy had a particular disdain for the group and canceled its regular meetings after it met in March 2025. By February 2026, former members feared the task force might be eliminated; Kennedy canceled a meeting scheduled 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 the prior 20 years and said he would bring in members with a clear mission. By May, eight of the 16 seats were vacant, largely because five members’ terms expired at the end of 2025 and replacements had not been named. The task force’s required annual report was also not issued, according to the source report.
The eight new appointees include cardiologists, a gastroenterologist, a radiologist, an artificial intelligence specialist and a health insurance expert. American Medical Association President Willie Underwood said the group had typically consisted of primary care physicians and preventive medicine experts, and that the new roster represented a departure from that composition.
““Despite the efforts, the task force has been blocked from publishing even a single recommendation since July 2025.””
— Michael Silverstein, former USPSTF chair
Reasons for Delays Remain Unclear
The available account does not explain why AHRQ’s director blocked the cervical cancer recommendation, whether the agency disputes Silverstein’s description, or when the recommendation might be released. It also does not specify the proposed recommendation’s content or how it would differ from existing guidance.
It remains unclear when the canceled cardiovascular recommendation will come to a vote, when the missed annual report will be issued, or whether the full task force will resume regular meetings. The source material also does not say whether the newly appointed members will review or replace work completed by the previous panel.
New Members Face Pending Work
The immediate milestones are the task force’s next meeting and any decision on the two recommendations Silverstein described. Kennedy said the March meeting would be rescheduled in the coming months, but the supplied reporting gives no new date. With all 16 seats now filled, the panel has a complete roster; the timing and status of its pending recommendations remain unreported.
Further information from AHRQ or HHS on the blocked cervical screening recommendation, meeting schedule and annual report would clarify how the agency plans to handle unfinished work. Until then, clinicians and patients cannot tell from the available account when updated federal guidance may be issued.
Key Questions
What does Silverstein say the administration blocked?
He says AHRQ’s director blocked the task force’s final cervical cancer screening recommendation in fall 2025 after the panel had completed public comment and revised its draft. He also says canceled meetings prevented a vote on a cardiovascular prevention recommendation.
Has the task force published recommendations since July 2025?
Silverstein wrote that it had not published a recommendation since July 2025. The supplied reporting does not include an agency response to that statement.
Who are the new task force members?
Kennedy appointed eight members, bringing the 16-seat panel to full strength. The new experts include cardiologists, a gastroenterologist, a radiologist, an artificial intelligence specialist and a health insurance expert. Former vice chairs John Wong and Esa Davis are not on the current roster.
Why can USPSTF recommendations matter to patients?
The recommendations can affect insurance coverage of preventive services under federal law. Silverstein warned that delays may leave providers relying on older guidance and may affect coverage, but the supplied source does not document particular patients losing coverage because of these events.
Source: rss
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