News Briefs: RFK Jr. Is Likely to Gain Full Senate Confirmation as HHS Secretary

Feb 06
Feb 06, 2025

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Feb. 4 passed a critical hurdle on his path to becoming the next HHS secretary and is likely to be confirmed. In a 14-13 vote along party lines, the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee cleared the way for a full Senate vote that as of AIS Health press time had not been scheduled. Despite intense questioning and skeptical closing remarks by Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., (R-La.) during a Jan. 30 hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Cassidy ended up casting his Finance Committee vote in favor of the politician. Although Cassidy said he and Kennedy are aligned on issues such as ultra-processed foods and obesity in the U.S., he expressed concern about Kennedy’s failure to unequivocally agree that vaccines save lives and do not cause autism. On Feb. 4, Cassidy said he discussed these concerns with Kennedy “multiple times over the weekend,” engaged in “in-depth conversations about the medical literature and the science behind the safety of vaccines,” and that “Kennedy and the administration reached out seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment to protecting the public health benefit of vaccination.” During both of Kennedy's confirmation hearings held last week, however, some Democratic senators expressed concern about his perception of Medicare and Medicaid. During his Jan. 29 hearing before the full Senate, for example, Kennedy incorrectly referred to Medicaid as being “fully paid for by the federal government” and indicated that the deductibles and premiums are too high. During the Jan. 30 HELP hearing, he failed to satisfy questions asked by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) about the differences between Medicare Parts A, B, C and D. When asked by Hassan to briefly define Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage), he responded that it is the “full menu of all the services, A, B, C and D.” Kennedy also declared that he is enrolled in an MA plan and is “very happy with it.”
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Lauren Flynn Kelly

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.