As Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., promises to disrupt the U.S. healthcare system as the new Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), spokespeople with the National Center for Public Policy Research and its Able Americans program urge Kennedy to remember vulnerable populations and people with disabilities as he does so.
Those with the National Center agree that U.S. health care system sorely needs transparency and that some disruption is likely necessary in order to provide better care in the long run. However, 100 million people with disabilities and their caregivers are particularly dependent upon consistent access to health care, and must contend daily with the challenges of insurance coverage, drug prices and navigating a complex system.
Able Americans stands ready to assist Secretary Kennedy with his reforms by providing research from Project Access and policy reform ideas as outlined in its “Able to Succeed” blueprint publication.
“America’s current social safety net, administered largely through HHS, has not adequately helped people with disabilities rise. Today, more than 25 percent of individuals with disabilities in America live in poverty — more than twice the rate of individuals without disabilities,” said Able Americans Director Rachel Barkley. “Federal statutes have not been reformed in over 80 years, and those reforms represented a time when people with disabilities were forced onto the sidelines and out of the community.”
Additionally, the debunked theory of childhood vaccines causing autism was at the forefront of Secretary Kennedy’s confirmation hearings. The HHS secretary is to health policy what the Federal Reserve chairman is to the economy — a few words can swing markets, or in this case, healthcare policy. The secretary’s policies are critical to the health of our children and of those with disabilities such as autism.
There is overwhelming data from hundreds of worldwide studies demonstrating that there is no link between vaccines and autism, and if HHS spends precious taxpayer dollars on this long-discredited theory, it would be both a waste of money and a disservice to families living with autism. Decades ago, Secretary Kennedy raised concerns about the MMR vaccine causing autism based on a study by Andrew Wakefield. The 1998 study only involved 12 children and was not a controlled study, and it came to light that Wakefield falsified data and withheld that he stood to gain financially from a class action lawsuit. His medical license was revoked and the study retracted as a result.
“As the father of two children on the autism spectrum, one of whom will require 24/7 care the rest of his life unless there is a scientific breakthrough, no one is more interested in answers than I am,” said David Ridenour, president of the National Center for Public Policy Research. “Continuing to blame childhood vaccinations based on long discredited studies diverts resources from finding the true cause and cure for autism. Secretary Kennedy should be mindful that what he says could have real-world consequences. We do not want parents skipping life-saving vaccinations because a top health official led them to believe they are harmful.”
Able Americans urges Mr. Kennedy to direct finite research dollars to environmental and genetic research on autism prevention and treatment, not widely-debunked science on vaccine causation.
“Able to Succeed: A Policy Reform Agenda for Americans with Disabilities” provides 45 policy solutions to address significant problems Americans with disabilities face under current policies and can be downloaded here. The Project Access website provides a transparent, comprehensive guide to federal agency resources and can be accessed here.
