Shortly after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday, President Donald Trump announced the establishment of the “Make America Healthy Again Commission.”
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that establishes the commission — and dives into the American health crisis in detail, arguing that 90% of the nation’s $4.5 trillion in annual healthcare expenditures are for people with chronic or mental health conditions, and that 77% of young adults don’t quality for the military based, in part, on their health scores.
All of these items are points of personal interest to the new HHS secretary.
“In short,” the order says, “Americans of all ages are becoming sicker, beset by illnesses that our medical system is not addressing effectively. These trends harm us, our economy, and our security.”
“To fully address the growing health crisis in America, we must re-direct our national focus, in the public and private sectors, toward understanding and drastically lowering chronic disease rates and ending childhood chronic disease,” the executive order continues. “This includes fresh thinking on nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication and treatments, the effects of new technological habits, environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety.”
Trump’s order further argues that his administration seeks to “restore the integrity of the scientific process by protecting expert recommendations from inappropriate influence and increasing transparency regarding existing data,” and ensure that “our healthcare system promotes health rather than just managing disease.”
The “Make America Healthy Again” commission will be chaired by Kennedy. The assistant to the president for Domestic Policy will serve as the executive director of the commission, and a slew of other members of Trump’s cabinet will be included as well, including the Education Secretary, the OMB director, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and the Director of the National Institutes of Health.
Trump’s goal with the commission, according to the executive order, is first and foremost to fight childhood disease, but also address the overall health of Americans.
Within 180 days of the order, the commission is ordered to submit a strategy to “Make Our Children Healthy Again,” based on their findings from a “Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment” that they will conduct.
“The Strategy shall address appropriately restructuring the Federal Government’s response to the childhood chronic disease crisis, including by ending Federal practices that exacerbate the health crisis or unsuccessfully attempt to address it, and by adding powerful new solutions that will end childhood chronic disease,” the order states.
