Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US secretary of Health and Human Services, left, and President Donald Trump during a news conference at the White House on May 12.
(Bloomberg) — A draft of the Trump administration’s highly anticipated blueprint on health policy takes a softer approach to regulating companies than many had feared, a relief for industry and setback for environmental activists.
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The draft report, which has been reviewed by Bloomberg News, has parts that go beyond previous announcements. They are mostly about boosting research in areas such as the risks of microplastics and how antidepressants are prescribed for children. It also refers to plans to boost fertility rates and getting whole milk into public schools.
The draft was dated Aug. 11, but could still see changes before it’s finalized, according to people familiar with the discussions who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. In particular, the report’s tone around pesticides is far less critical than Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his allies have been in the past. That raised concerns earlier this week from some of his supporters in the so-called Make America Healthy Again movement, according to the people.
The policy agenda is the second installment in a two-part process to carry out an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in February. The first report detailed research about what the administration viewed as the root cause of chronic disease among children, and the second was intended to lay out policies to address those root causes. The strategy was due to be submitted to the president on Aug. 12, but hasn’t been publicly released.
The White House declined to confirm the draft’s authenticity, but industry officials said it was largely in line with what they had been briefed on by the administration. Still, the report appeared in flux before its public release, with the debate centered on the wording of the pesticide provisions.
“Until officially released by the White House and MAHA Commission, any documents purporting to be the second MAHA Report should be disregarded as speculative literature,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.
The document aligns with the administration’s strategy to create change by pressuring industries, rather than through new regulations or laws. Officials have employed the strategy with food companies, health insurers and pharmaceutical producers so far.
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Pesticides Approach
The draft takes a lighter touch on pesticides, after a backlash from the agricultural community before the first report’s release prompted an internal debate over the issue.
The document calls for continually evaluating the current framework to “ensure that chemicals and other exposures do not interact together to pose a threat to the health of our children.” It references measuring the “cumulative exposure” to chemicals. That could rankle farmers and agriculture firms, which say that pesticides are safe to use and disputes language that suggests they could be harmful to Americans.
Kennedy has been skeptical of some vaccines, and the document calls for more research on vaccine injuries. The draft has vague pronouncements such as “ensuring scientific and medical freedom” and making sure Americans have the “best” vaccination schedule.
The agency will launch a “MAHA education campaign” to promote the early adoption of lifestyle changes that may increase fertility rates among men and women, including through new partnerships with federally funded family planning facilities, according to the draft, which didn’t provide specific examples of what would be taught.
Kennedy has repeatedly raised concerns over declining sperm counts and testosterone rates, especially among teenage boys, to explain declining US birth rates.
Processed Foods
The draft report criticizes “highly processed foods,” listing poor diet among the top drivers of children’s chronic diseases, but didn’t propose any significant new restrictions on the industry. The administration has already begun the process of defining “ultra processed foods,” which it said will be used to develop future research funding and policies.
The report refers to highly processed foods more often than ultra-processed foods and doesn’t distinguish between the terms. Ultra-processed foods typically involve some industrial steps or ingredients, unlike whole foods such as fruits and vegetables. Many packaged foods are generally considered ultra-processed.
The report also pointed to forthcoming revised dietary guidelines, which Trump officials have estimated will be released in the fall. Kennedy has said those guidelines will encourage people to eat “whole foods,” and will be simple and easy to understand.
The draft report previews several public health awareness campaigns it plans to launch, including a “Real Food First” push to “prioritize whole, minimally processed foods over packaged and highly processed alternatives.”
Whole Milk
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary has indicated the dietary guidelines will take a new approach toward saturated fat. The draft report included one hint of what could be coming, by specifically calling to remove the restrictions around serving whole milk in schools. Because the current dietary guidelines recommend limiting consumption of foods high in saturated fat to less than 10% of calories daily, schools serve only skim and 1% milk.
The draft calls for increased oversight and enforcement of advertisements for direct-to-consumer drugs. The report suggests that social media influencers and telehealth companies – categories that have historically fallen into a regulatory gray area – should be subject to greater oversight when promoting drugs.
Lawmakers have been pressuring the federal government to take action on the influx of advertisements from telehealth companies that offer copycat weight-loss medications. That includes allegations that Hims & Hers Health Inc. omitted safety information in advertising.
–With assistance from Ilena Peng, Charles Gorrivan and Madison Muller.
