If confirmed, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could have broad affect over federal companies and well being care coverage — a prospect that worries many in public well being given his historical past of conspiracy theories.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
We’ll now discuss extra about a kind of picks, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who President-elect Trump has tapped to steer the Division of Well being and Human Providers. If confirmed, Kennedy could have broad affect over federal companies and well being care coverage, and that may be a prospect that worries many in public well being, given his historical past of creating false claims about vaccines and selling conspiracy theories.
Within the remaining stretch of the election, Kennedy centered closely on tackling power illnesses and corruption below the slogan Make America Wholesome Once more, and Trump has stated that might be a giant precedence. NPR well being correspondent Will Stone joins us now to speak extra about this, Hey, Will.
WILL STONE, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: Let’s begin right here. How would you sum up the Make America Wholesome Once more agenda?
STONE: OK, so Kennedy and Trump have stated that their central mandate is to reverse the power illness epidemic within the U.S., and we’re speaking about diabetes, coronary heart illness. These are the main causes of demise. They’re tied to eating regimen, bodily exercise and different way of life components. And to realize this formidable purpose, supporters of this MAHA motion have set their sights on Large Meals and Large Pharma. You already know, these are industries that they are saying use their affect over authorities to push insurance policies that undermine the nation’s well being.
A key determine in Kennedy’s orbit and an advisor of his is Calley Means. He is a former marketing consultant for these industries. Means works within the well being and wellness business. Here is what he instructed me once we spoke a number of days earlier than Trump introduced Kennedy as his decide to steer HHS.
CALLEY MEANS: What Bobby Kennedy has helped President Trump notice is that there is no larger instance of this swamp, there is no larger instance of this corruption President Trump has talked about all through his political profession, than what’s taking place with our meals business that is making the most of low cost, addictive meals and our well being care business that earnings from youngsters getting sick from power illness tied to meals.
DETROW: I’ve heard Kennedy speak about so many alternative areas, although. What precisely is the preliminary focus right here?
STONE: Yeah, good query. I imply, he has spoke about issues associated to ultraprocessed meals, poor diet, meals components, pesticides, poisonous chemical compounds, the harms of business agriculture and, extra broadly, the well being care system’s give attention to therapies as an alternative of prevention. Tackling any of those alone can be a major enterprise, and many individuals have tried. You’ll be able to guess, Scott, he’ll face main headwinds, each from Congress and lobbyist. I spoke to a longtime buddy of Kennedy’s, Dr. Mark Hyman. He is a bestselling writer and an advisor to the Cleveland Clinic.
MARK HYMAN: I feel there is a distinctive alternative, partly as a result of Trump is form of a burn-down-the-house form of man. Bobby’s, , not on the lookout for incremental change.
STONE: Kennedy has shared a lot of his targets. He needs to overtake dietary tips and federal packages that pay for ultraprocessed meals, tackle crop subsidies, perhaps ban sure pesticides that European international locations have already banned.
DETROW: What is the response been to all of this?
STONE: It is actually an odd, virtually dizzying second for the general public well being discipline. Kennedy is well-known for questioning the scientific consensus, pushing inaccurate details about vaccines. He is based an antivaccine advocacy group and is usually antagonistic towards mainstream drugs. As NPR has lined, he is promoted unproven therapies for COVID and made different basless claims associated to well being.
On the identical time, there is no denying that on power illness prevention, there may be some actual overlap between what he talks about as his priorities and what you hear from scientists who work on this discipline. Considered one of them is Barry Popkin, a professor at UNC Gillings College of International Public Well being. He says, he would welcome significant motion on diet and the meals provide.
BARRY POPKIN: If it comes, I am going to assist it, and I will be tremendous stunned, and academia might be behind them and so forth. However I don’t see that. I concern the worst.
STONE: Popkin tells me he is anxious concerning the different realms of public well being below Kennedy’s management – our preparation for the following pandemic, outbreaks of measles and backsliding on confirmed public well being instruments like vaccines.
DETROW: How would Kennedy get most of this agenda by means of on the subject of the – what he is speaking about with power illness prevention?
STONE: Yeah, that’s the query, Scott, as a result of, clearly, Trump and different Republicans are already speaking about reducing authorities and rules. That is what Dr. Randall Stafford at Stanford is making an attempt to sq..
RANDALL STAFFORD: I’m very happy to see the problems of weight problems and poor eating regimen being articulated, however I am undecided that these targets are according to different targets to decontrol the financial system.
STONE: And in Trump’s first time period, his administration put in business insiders and took actions on diet and pesticides that run counter to this new agenda. I requested Calley Means about this, and he stated that basically, their precedence is extra about stamping out business affect, whether or not that is with people who find themselves funded to do analysis or who advise the federal government.
MEANS: Our well being and meals equipment – it is rigged. And aggressively and clearly derigging that system is just not overregulation.
STONE: He argues when you get that accomplished, the analysis and proposals will comply with, and Congress must act.
DETROW: That is NPR’s Will Stone. Thanks a lot.
STONE: Thanks.
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