Following the Senate confirmation and swearing-in of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump on Feb. 13 issued an executive order launching the “Make America Healthy Again” Commission, to be headed by Secretary Kennedy.
The executive order highlights rising diagnoses of conditions such as asthma, autoimmune disease, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and compares these trends to the rates of drug prescriptions and pharmaceutical spending. It directs the National Institutes of Health and other health-related agencies to prioritize research into the root causes of illness, emphasizing open-source data and transparency.
The commission will be composed of leaders — or their designees — from major federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, and others. It is tasked with studying childhood chronic conditions and must issue a report on these conditions within 100 days.
The order specifically raises concerns about medication overuse, highlighting the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs.
Following the initial report, the commission will develop and publish a childhood health strategy based on its findings, aimed at advising on the restructuring of the federal response to childhood chronic diseases.
For further inquiries, contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127.
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