HHS overturns 54-year-old public comment rule

from Healthcare Brew

The new US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rescinded on Monday a long-standing public comment practice at the nation’s largest public health agency—shortly after promising a “new era of radical transparency” last month.

In a policy statement on Feb. 28, Kennedy said the “extra-statutory” public comments “impose costs on the department and the public, are contrary to the efficient operation of the department, and impede the department’s flexibility to adapt quickly to legal and policy mandates.”

Since the move effectively limits citizens from sharing their opinions with the agency, experts have shared concerns that removing these opportunities for public commentary could impede the agency’s ability to operate in the public’s interest.

Lawrence Gostin, a law professor and chair of global health law at Georgetown University, posted on X that the move allows the HHS to “operate in secret” and “ignore the views of key stakeholders.”...

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