FDA Aims To Remove Fluoride Supplements For Kids From Market
The move contradicts the advice from the CDC and professional medical associations that recommend low doses of fluoride supplements for children who live in areas without fluoridated water. HHS also takes on deregulation, infant formula, mental health care, and more.
NPR:
FDA Moves To Ban Fluoride Supplements For Kids, Removing A Key Tool For Dentists
Under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Food and Drug Administration is seeking to remove prescription fluoride supplements for kids from the market. These are fluoride tablets, drops or lozenges that are recommended for kids who don't get fluoridated water to help prevent cavities. (Huang, 5/13)
Fierce Healthcare:
RFK Jr Pushes Forward On Deregulation At HHS With RFI, Rescindments
The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is moving forward with President Donald Trump’s 10:1 deregulation agenda with a call for public input and the immediate rescindment of four guidance documents. On Tuesday morning, Kennedy’s department and the Food and Drug Administration launched a 60-day Request for Information (RFI). The department and its subagency are interested in hearing about “outdated or unnecessary regulations” that the secretary said are hampering competition and restricting the practice of healthcare. (Muoio, 5/13)
Axios:
RFK Jr. Turns His Food Focus To Infant Formula
The Trump administration is launching a review of the nutrient makeup of infant formula, in the first such federal inquiry in more than a quarter century. It marks the latest examination of U.S. food supply under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but carries especially high stakes, targeting a product that's complicated to manufacture and has a notoriously fragile supply chain. (Reed, 5/14)
Stat:
Mental Health Care May Be Harder To Obtain After HHS Rule Reversal
For a recent therapy session, Andria Donaghy’s insurance plan paid her psychiatric nurse practitioner only $11 on a $125 service. “To even put that on paper is insulting,” she said. “These people give their lives [to help others] and that’s what you pay them?” (Broderick, 5/13)
RFK Jr. to testify at Congress —
Stat:
RFK Jr. Faces Senate, House Questions On HHS Overhaul, Vaccines
The Republican leader of the Senate’s health panel plans to ask Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to explain the sweeping changes across the federal health agencies he oversees, in a long-awaited hearing scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. (Payne, 5/14)
Politico:
Why The 1 Senator Who Can Rein In RFK Jr. Isn’t Calling Him Out
Sen. Bill Cassidy has a big decision to make about Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. When Kennedy makes his first public appearance before the Senate health committee Wednesday since his February confirmation, public health officials and advocates hope the GOP senator from Louisiana — a doctor — will again challenge Kennedy’s long-held view that vaccines cause autism, as he did during Kennedy’s confirmation hearings, and also question actions Kennedy has taken as secretary. (Paun and Cancryn, 5/13)
Join KFF Health News for a live discussion —
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Tune in today at 4 p.m. ET for a post-hearing discussion with KFF Health News correspondents Julie Rovner, Stephanie Armour, and Darius Tahir and KFF’s Jennifer Kates, a senior vice president and the director of Global Health & HIV Policy. Register for the webinar here!
