We should identify disease early, prevent it when we can, and give doctors and patients the best evidence to make decisions about their health.
Today, we are strengthening one of the institutions charged with doing exactly that.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, announced the appointment of eight new members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
asserted
Department → identify → Force
We are reforming and refocusing the Task Force to strengthen scientific rigor, broaden clinical expertise, and improve the recommendations that inform preventive care across America.
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that → reform → America
The Task Force carries enormous responsibility.
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Force → carry → responsibility
Its recommendations influence how doctors screen for disease, how patients make decisions about preventive care, and how our country evaluates the evidence behind preventive medicine.
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country → influence → medicine
They also have consequences beyond the examination room: Federal law generally requires private health plans to cover preventive services that receive an A or B recommendation from the Task Force without patient cost-sharing.
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that → have → sharing
That responsibility demands rigorous science and practical medical judgment.
asserted
responsibility → demand → science
Science advances when qualified experts challenge assumptions, interrogate evidence, identify gaps, and test whether conclusions withstand scrutiny.
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conclusions → advance → scrutiny
I appointed eight new members with deep experience across pediatrics, oncology, cardiology, radiology, gastroenterology, family medicine, health economics, and clinical research.
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I → appoint → pediatrics
Several have spent decades treating patients.
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Several → spend → patients
Others have devoted their careers to evaluating medical evidence, technologies, and health policy.
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Others → devote → evidence
Together, they bring more frontline clinical experience and specialized medical knowledge to the Task Force.
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they → bring → Force
The Task Force has traditionally drawn heavily from primary care, preventive medicine, and experts trained in evaluating medical evidence.
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Force → draw → evidence
Those perspectives remain essential.
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perspectives → remain → ?
But preventive medicine does not stop at the boundaries of any one discipline.
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medicine → stop → discipline
It encompasses cancer detection, cardiovascular disease, medical imaging, pediatric care, diagnostic technologies, chronic disease, and other areas where specialized clinical knowledge can sharpen the evaluation of evidence.
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knowledge → encompass → evidence
Our goal is not to determine what the Task Force concludes.
asserted
Force → determine → what
Our goal is to strengthen the expertise applied to the evidence, so Americans can have confidence in how the Task Force reaches its conclusions.
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Force → strengthen → conclusions
We need specialists at the table.
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We → need → table
We need physicians who regularly treat patients.
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who → need → patients
And we need experts who can evaluate scientific literature while understanding how recommendations work in clinical practice.
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recommendations → need → practice
The eight members announced today bring that perspective.
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members → announce → perspective
Dr. Seth Corey, who will chair the Task Force, brings 41 years of experience caring for children and young adults and deep expertise in cancer and blood disorders.
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who → chair → cancer
Dr. Patrick Hunter has practiced pediatrics for 34 years and brings experience implementing clinical guidelines, including in rural communities.
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Hunter → practice → communities
Dr. Ronald Karlsberg has spent 48 years providing cardiovascular care.
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Karlsberg → spend → care
Dr. Venkatesh Murthy brings expertise in preventive cardiology, medical imaging, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
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Murthy → bring → intelligence
Dr. Goldie Stands-Over-Bull practices family medicine and provides comprehensive care to Native American patients across the lifespan.
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Stands → practice → lifespan
Dr. Louis Wilson brings nearly three decades of experience in gastroenterology, hepatology, clinical nutrition, disease prevention, and early detection.
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Wilson → bring → gastroenterology
Dr. Dennis Wulfeck has practiced diagnostic radiology for 33 years.
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Wulfeck → practice → years
Dr. Stephen Parente brings three decades of research examining health policy, health care delivery, and their effects on patients.
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Parente → bring → patients
These appointments add new perspectives without discarding the experience already on the Task Force.
asserted
appointments → add → Force
Despite claims last year that I planned to dismiss every member of the Task Force, eight members appointed during the Biden administration will continue to serve.
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members → plan → administration
We chose reform over wholesale replacement, preserving institutional knowledge while adding clinical and scientific expertise.
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We → choose → expertise
The Task Force will remain scientifically independent.
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Force → remain → ?
HHS will not dictate its conclusions.
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HHS → dictate → conclusions
It will continue to evaluate evidence and make recommendations about screenings, counseling, preventive medications, and other clinical preventive services.
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It → continue → screenings
But independence should never mean insulation from rigorous scientific debate.
asserted
independence → mean → debate
Science advances when qualified experts challenge assumptions, interrogate evidence, identify gaps, and test whether conclusions withstand scrutiny.
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conclusions → advance → scrutiny
A cardiologist may recognize implications in cardiovascular screening evidence that others overlook.
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others → recognize → that
A radiologist can bring specialized knowledge to questions about imaging.
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radiologist → bring → imaging
A pediatrician understands how recommendations affect children and families.
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recommendations → understand → children
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
