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Former USPSTF chair Michael Silverstein says the agency overseeing the task force blocked its final cervical cancer screening recommendation in fall 2025 and cancelled meetings that delayed other recommendations. The task force now has eight newly appointed members, but the cited report does not say whether the blocked recommendation will be published or when delayed work will resume.
Michael Silverstein, a former chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, says the federal agency overseeing the group blocked its final recommendation on cervical cancer screening in fall 2025 and that cancelled meetings prevented members from voting on other guidance. The account, published in a commentary in the Annals of Internal Medicine and reported by MedPage Today, raises questions about delays to preventive care recommendations that can shape clinical practice and insurance coverage.
Silverstein, a physician at Brown University, wrote that the task force had completed a draft cervical cancer screening recommendation, held a public comment period and incorporated hundreds of comments before AHRQ leadership blocked the final recommendation. AHRQ, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, oversees the task force. The source material does not include an explanation from AHRQ for the decision.
He also said members were unable to vote on a recommendation about preventing cardiovascular disease through healthy lifestyle interventions because scheduled meetings were cancelled. Silverstein wrote that the task force had not published a recommendation since July 2025. He said volunteer members continued meeting virtually each week despite the cancelled official meetings.
The account describes subsequent changes to the task force. In May, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired vice chairs John Wong and Esa Davis, while saying they could reapply. Eight of 16 seats were vacant at that point, in part because five members’ terms had expired at the end of 2025 and replacements had not been appointed. Kennedy appointed eight members earlier this year, restoring the group to full membership. Neither Wong nor Davis is among the current members, according to the report.
Effects on Preventive Care Guidance
The task force’s recommendations can influence what preventive services clinicians offer and whether insurers cover them. Silverstein warned that delays could leave primary care providers relying on guidance based on outdated evidence, and could affect coverage for services he described as highly effective. Those are his concerns; the source does not document specific patients losing coverage or providers changing care because of the blocked recommendation.
The delay also matters because the group develops recommendations through evidence review and public comment. In this case, Silverstein says the cervical screening work had passed through those steps before leadership stopped its release. The report does not provide the recommendation’s final wording or explain how it would differ from existing guidance, so its potential effect on screening decisions cannot be determined from the available information.
Changes in membership may also affect the task force’s work and how its expertise is represented. The American Medical Association’s president, Willie Underwood III, said the new slate departs from the group’s typical composition of primary care doctors and preventive medicine experts. The report lists new appointees with expertise in cardiology, gastroenterology, radiology, artificial intelligence and health insurance, alongside other fields, but does not assess how the appointments will shape future recommendations.
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Cancellations and New Appointments
Silverstein traced the dispute to the early period of the second Trump administration. He wrote that Kennedy had shown disdain for the task force and cancelled regular meetings after it met in March 2025, including meetings scheduled for July and November. By February 2026, former members reportedly feared Kennedy might eliminate the task force. Instead, he cancelled its next 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” over the previous 20 years and said he would bring on members with a “clear mission,” according to the report. In May, he removed Wong and Davis from their vice chair roles. Earlier this year, eight new members were appointed. The source says the task force’s required annual report was also not issued, but does not give a release date or say whether it has since been completed.
““This means that primary care providers across the country may be following cancer, heart disease, or other prevention guidelines that are based on outdated evidence, and Americans are possibly being denied insurance coverage for highly effective services.””
— Michael Silverstein
Publication and Meeting Status
The report does not say whether AHRQ or HHS has responded to Silverstein’s account, why the cervical cancer recommendation was blocked, or whether the agency plans to publish it. It also does not specify the recommendation’s conclusions or say whether members have since voted on the cardiovascular prevention guidance.
The new appointments restored the task force to 16 members, but the timing and agenda for its next meeting are not given. The status of the required annual report is also unclear. Silverstein’s concerns about outdated guidance and possible insurance consequences remain possible effects he identified; the source provides no evidence measuring whether those effects have occurred.
Next Steps for the Task Force
The next reported milestone is a rescheduled task force meeting. Kennedy had said the cancelled March meeting would be rescheduled in the coming months, but the report gives no confirmed date. Members could then address delayed recommendations, though it is not clear whether the cervical screening item will return to the agenda or whether the cardiovascular prevention recommendation will proceed to a vote.
Readers will also be watching for publication of the task force’s annual report and any statement from AHRQ or HHS explaining the blocked recommendation. Until those details emerge, the status of the screening guidance and the timetable for the group’s pending work remain unresolved.
Key Questions
Which recommendation does Silverstein say was blocked?
He says AHRQ leadership blocked the task force’s final cervical cancer screening recommendation in fall 2025, after a draft, public comment period and incorporation of hundreds of comments.
What other task force work was delayed?
Silverstein says cancelled meetings prevented members from voting on a recommendation about preventing cardiovascular disease through healthy lifestyle interventions. The report does not say whether a vote has since taken place.
Who are the new members, and how many were appointed?
Kennedy appointed eight members earlier this year, restoring the 16-member task force to full strength. The report describes expertise among the new appointees in cardiology, gastroenterology, radiology, artificial intelligence and health insurance, but does not provide a full list of names.
Has the blocked recommendation been released?
The cited report does not say that it has been released. It also does not provide a date for a future publication or an explanation from AHRQ for blocking it.
Source: rss
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