Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent appearance before Congress raised eyebrows across the nation, mostly because of his outlandish statements about the Covid-19 pandemic and his combative denials of the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict vaccine access for children.
However, a subtle exchange during his Senate Committee on Finance grilling reveals another fable that lies at the heart of Kennedy’s delusional health care narrative. As I wrapped up questioning him about his troubling tenure, he made an absurd accusation that sums up his approach to health care in America: He believes he is the only person in the room to ever care about — or act on — the rise of chronic illness in America.
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When it comes to chronic illnesses in children, Kennedy has caused a lot of problems he has to answer for after only about 200 days in office. With his support, congressional Republicans wrote and passed into law the largest cut to health care in American history. That includes almost $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care to 37 million children.
Kennedy is fond of the statistic that three-quarters of America’s young people would not qualify for military service due to chronic health issues, quoting rates much higher than when his “uncle was president.” He would do well to remember another 1960s-era policy aimed at military readiness: Medicaid’s early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment benefit for children.
This standard of care for children covered by Medicaid is an essential lifeline for American families walking an economic tightrope to ensure their kids have the access to high quality and affordable health care.
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The latest Republican health care cuts, backed by Kennedy, threaten millions of kids’ access to quality health care that prevents chronic conditions from developing in the first place. The massive cuts in the rest of the bill will force states to stop funding many other priorities that focus on keeping children healthy and safe, like the home care benefits that allow children with disabilities to live at home with their families and go to school.
Finally, Kennedy is oblivious to what is going on in his own department to fight chronic illness.
Several years ago, the late Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and I came together to begin the transformation of Medicare, shifting the program’s focus from acute care like pneumonia or a broken ankle to chronic illnesses. Mr. Kennedy may not know it, but half of Medicare patients have four or more chronic illnesses.
In our chronic care law, we made it easier for patients to get social and medical health care benefits, including home improvements like wheelchair ramps, transportation to doctor’s offices, and home delivery of hot meals. The law also gave people on traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage new choices for health care that helps manage specific chronic illnesses. This paved the way for a major expansion of telehealth, which became a critical building block for the American health care system during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. It’s a transformational step in the way the government’s flagship health care program works for those who suffer from chronic conditions.
That law was an important first step, but there’s more work to be done. The first order of business is repealing Republicans’ disastrous health care cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. As for what comes next, we’ll keep working to make Medicare better manage and treat Americans’ chronic illnesses.
The next time Kennedy comes before Congress, I hope he will take the time to learn about what others in public service are working toward to alleviate chronic illness in America, rather than bringing talking points and misleading statistics to use as a political cudgel.
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Ron Wyden is a senator representing Oregon.