Kennedy Proposes Scrapping Public Comment on Major US Health Policies
February 28, 2025 | Source: Reuters | by Ahmed Aboulenein, Julie Steenhuysen and Michael Erman
WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is seeking to eliminate public participation in many of his department’s policy decisions, a move that appears to contradict his pledge to Congress of “radical transparency.”
In a document posted on Friday in the Federal Register, HHS announced plans to rescind its decades-long practice of allowing public comment on a range of agency actions.
The proposal marks a shift in the rulemaking process at HHS, which directs $3 trillion in healthcare spending and oversees high-profile agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and programs like Medicare and Medicaid that provide health insurance for over 140 million people.
Set for formal publication on March 3, the proposal would strip the public’s ability to submit feedback on decisions related to agency management, personnel, public property, loans and grants, benefits, and contracts.