Democrats question credentials and conflicts on RFK Jr. healthcare advisory panel
Two senior Democratic senators sent a letter Tuesday to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, raising "serious concerns" about the credentials and financial conflicts of interest of members of Kennedy's Healthcare Advisory Committee. Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, ranking member of the Budget Committee, and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, ranking member of the Finance Committee, signed the letter.
Two senior Democratic senators sent a letter Tuesday to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, raising "serious concerns" about the credentials and financial conflicts of interest of members of Kennedy's Healthcare Advisory Committee. Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, ranking member of the Budget Committee, and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, ranking member of the Finance Committee, signed the letter.
The committee and its membership
The Healthcare Advisory Committee was announced in March. Kennedy and Oz said at the time that they had reviewed 400 candidates before settling on 18 members. The panel is charged with improving and modernizing the health care system.
The 18-member roster includes motivational coach Tony Robbins, a venture capitalist who previously worked alongside Kennedy's son, and a number of health care executives, according to STAT News, which reported on the letter.
What the senators wrote
The letter was addressed to Kennedy in his capacity as health secretary and to Oz as CMS administrator. Both officials jointly announced the committee and its membership in March.
Merkley and Wyden wrote that their concerns span the professional credibility of those appointed to the panel and potential financial conflicts of interest among the 18 members. Merkley serves as the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee; Wyden holds the same role on the Finance Committee.