President-elect Trump’s second term may appear to be even more expansive than his first term in terms of impacts on our health care. Much of what we hear comes from Trump ally Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to “Make America Healthy Again.”

Trump’s first term may also hint at things to come. And there Agenda 47Trump’s policy plans for his time in office.

Some changes in federal health bureaus and jurisdictions may include the Affordable Care Act, public health regulations, CDC guidance, research, vaccines, and drinking water.

Public health experts have shared concerns about what Trump’s second term could bring.

“We continue to be concerned about a lot of the rhetoric that has come out during the campaign. Now, I understand that the campaign rhetoric is (but) not necessarily evidence-based. And we know that many of the people who are speaking out are the same people who are speaking out on this issue,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “This type of news is known to provide bad health information, misinformation and, in some cases, disinformation,” he said.

RFK Jr. said sweeping changes were coming to federal health agencies during and after he suspended his own campaign.

“Our top priority will be to clean up public health agencies like the CDC, NIH, FDA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These agencies have become sock puppets in so-called industries,” he said in a Nov. 5 video on his website. to organise.”

Experts say RFK Jr. has a history of spreading anti-vaccine misinformationincluding long-debunked claims about vaccines autism caused by faulty research late 90s and early 2000s has since withdrawn.

“For decades, RFK Jr. has been a source of misinformation and outright lies about vaccines and other disease treatments. When you see someone like him getting the ear of the president-elect and boasting about the influence he would have, that’s something that can be very chilling,” said Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Senior Scholar Dr. Amesh Adalja. “In my opinion, being against a technology that extends everyone’s life by decades, saves hundreds of millions of children from premature death, and makes the world much more hospitable to people is downright unfair.” evil. “Any evidence that supports how vaccines are changing humanity for the better is highly avoidable.”

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in a privileged way MSNBC interview On Wednesday, RFK was asked about withdrawing vaccines from the market.

“If vaccines work for someone, I’m not going to take them away. People should have a choice. And that choice should be made with the best information. So I’ll make sure that the scientific studies and the effectiveness are done right. There people can make individual evaluations about whether this product will be good for them,” he said. .

“If you put that qualifier in there, especially from someone like RFK Jr., you say that good science for him means science that conforms to his own preconceived idea. Not science that adheres to the facts of reality, not science derived from the evidence of the senses,” Adalja told Scripps News. “but the science fits some explanation that he wants to use for political gain or political power,” he said.

The Affordable Care Act could come up next year as Congress debates whether to expand some of the plan subsidies expanded during the Biden administration. The Trump administration made an effort in its first term to offer shorter-term health plans, and we could see that once again. A 2018 KFF analysis found that 71% of these plans do not cover prescription drugs, and none of the plans cover maternity care.

We may also see the rules regarding the use of chemicals in drinking water change forever from the Biden to Trump administrations. RFK Jr. He also said he expects fluoride added to public drinking water to be withdrawn.

CDC calls for fluoridationAlong with vaccines, it is among the “10 great public health interventions of the 20th century.”

With so many potential changes at stake, public health advocates are preparing for what’s to come.

“When they do things that we think are in line with public health, we will be there for them. But when they do things that are not in line with public health, you can be sure that we will advocate against them,” Benjamin said.

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