U.S. preventive task force stalls, delaying cancer-screening guidance
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which guides cancer screening and other preventive services insurers must cover, has not met since March 2025, with July and November meetings canceled by a government shutdown and several vacancies leaving the panel short-handed. Draft recommendations, including updates to cervical cancer screening and perinatal depression, remain pending as the group typically issues 20–25 guidance items annually but published only about five last year. Critics warn that political reshaping of federal advisory panels under Health Secretary RFK Jr. could further slow evidence-based recommendations.