Preventive services under USPSTF save lives and reduce costs

Reports that Secretary Kennedy intends to dismiss all members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are concerning. It is critical that the USPSTF continue to operate free of political interference and that its members have relevant expertise and rely on the best available scientific data to make recommendations.

USPSTF recommendations provide critical guidance for patient and clinician decision-making and insurance coverage for a wide range of vital preventive health services, including prevention and screening for HIV and screening for hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted infections and conditions like cancer and type 2 diabetes that place patients at significantly greater risk for secondary infections. Expanded access to these preventive services saves millions of lives and reduces health care costs associated with late diagnoses.

Recent increases in the rates of certain STIs - especially including congenital syphilis in infants - as well as new cases of HIV and viral hepatitis fueled in part by the opioid epidemic and more difficult to access health care, underscore that our nation must significantly deepen its commitment to preventive health care, not undermine it.

- Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP - President, IDSA