ICYMI: Buchanan Highlights HHS Secretary Kennedy’s Crucial Work Fixing America’s Broken Health Care System

"The U.S. is Spending $5.3 Trillion on Health Care and Getting Sicker as a Nation."

Highlights Ongoing Work on Prevention, Nutrition and Early Detection to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, questioned the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a full committee hearing on the state of the nation's health care system, building on their ongoing efforts to address chronic disease and shift toward a prevention-focused model of care.

During the hearing, Buchanan highlighted the growing health and financial burden facing Americans while pointing to progress already underway to improve outcomes through prevention, nutrition and early detection.

Buchanan emphasized that chronic disease, driven in part by poor diet and ultra-processed foods, is at the root of rising costs and worsening outcomes, and underscored the importance of continuing to build on recent efforts to promote healthier, longer living.

Click here to watch Congressman Buchanan's remarks.

Here's what Buchanan said about improving health outcomes in America:

On prevention as the foundation of health

Buchanan: "I want to thank Secretary Kennedy for your leadership. It's been incredible. … The U.S. is spending $5.3 trillion on health care and getting sicker as a nation. 6 in 10 Americans and 95 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have at least one chronic disease. Roughly half of the adult population is projected to be obese by the end of this decade. I believe this problem stems from unhealthy and ultra-processed foods, and I applaud HHS and its continued support and leadership on this issue.

"We must prioritize prevention as the key to reversing trends in heart disease, obesity and diabetes. I believe the best way to bend the cost curve is by making sure people don't get sick in the first place. I like to say to people … you need to be the CEO of your own health, and I think that's critical.

"Mr. Secretary, I appreciate our strong partnership in advancing the health of this country. I look forward to continuing to work together to support a health care system that values prevention, not reaction. … Together, we've accomplished so many things to support health and prevention. For example, we've worked on a new food pyramid-real food, cutting ultra-processed food and we've also brought back the Presidential Fitness Test, which I'm excited about. … What do you think we could be doing more of in that space in terms of diet and exercise?"

Kennedy: "Flipping the food pyramid and issuing new dietary guidelines was the beginning. When I came into office, I was handed dietary guidelines developed by the Biden administration. They were 453 pages long, they were incomprehensible, they were written by food industry lobbyists, and reflected the mercantile impulses that had driven Fruit Loops to the top of the food pyramid. Fruit Loops isn't even a food-it's just poison.

"We brought together the best nutritionists in this country, from the best universities… a dozen of them worked for 11 months to reform the dietary guidelines and offered, for the first time, not dogma-based guidelines but science-based guidelines. Every recommendation is cited and sourced to multiple peer-reviewed publications. That's the beginning. The next part is to drive those changes into dietary culture in our country."

On screening and early detection

Buchanan: "I'm deeply passionate about promoting access to screening as a way to prevent diseases. Through my personal experience with Alzheimer's and lung cancer, I've become a strong believer in the power of detection and prevention. I'd like to get your thoughts."

Kennedy: "Screening for prevention is absolutely critical. We are forming now the USPSTF, which is the committee that decides on new procedures and interventions that need to get CMS compensation. That committee has been lackadaisical and negligent for 20 years. We're now bringing new members on with a clear mission. We're going to have much more frequent meetings… and, for the first time, transparency. We're making huge investments at NIH and elsewhere… doing the kind of science we need to do better screening for Alzheimer's."

In addition to being the Vice Chairman and most senior Republican on the powerful U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Buchanan is also the Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, which has broad jurisdiction over traditional Medicare, the Medicare prescription drug benefit program and Medicare Advantage.

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