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EXCLUSIVE: The GOP Doctors Caucus is backing a possible effort to overhaul the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, an independent task force that’s used to determine recommendations on what services health insurance companies in the United States have to cover free of charge.

A letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., led by Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., and Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., and other members of the caucus expressed concerns that the group may be prioritizing social justice issues over other issues.

«Preventive care should be about keeping Americans healthy, not about checking political boxes,» Harshbarger said in a statement. 

«The American people deserve a task force that follows the science, acts with urgency and relies on the expertise of front-line doctors. The USPSTF should be leading the charge in President Trump’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda, not wasting time on woke distractions while chronic disease rates keep climbing.»

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Specifically, the letter asks for «relevant specialists» to be part of the process when making certain recommendations, greater transparency in decision-making and more of a focus on outcomes as opposed to «substantial attention to divisive social issues,» citing «race and gender identity considerations that extend beyond traditional clinical parameters,» according to a news release.

«In 2010, the Affordable Care Act expanded the authority of the USPSTF and tied coverage recommendations to Task Force determinations. However, since the USPSTF’s authority was expanded, the rate of incidence of preventable chronic disease in the United States has only climbed,» the letter states.

The letter was also signed by other members of the caucus, including Reps. Andy Harris, Ronny Jackson, Mike Kennedy, Brian Babin, Sheri Biggs and Bob Onder.

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Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., speaks during the Republican Study Committee news conference to introduce a «Women’s Bill of Rights» outside the Capitol May 19, 2022.  (Getty Images )

Earlier this month, three Republican senators wrote a similar letter raising ideological concerns about the current task force.

«In particular, the USPSTF departed from its proper activities in its December 2023 Health Equity Framework. The framework criticizes ‘equal access to quality health care for all’ as an inadequate goal of public health and announces that the Task Force will instead use equity as ‘a criterion of the ‘public health importance’ of a topic’ for consideration,» that letter stated.

The Wall Street Journal reported that, in July, Kennedy was considering removing members of the board.

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A sign stands at an entrance to the main campus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta Feb. 14, 2025.  (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)

«No final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again,» an HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement when asked about the WSJ report at the time.

The American Medical Association has opposed an overhaul of the task force.

«USPSTF plays a critical, nonpartisan role in guiding physicians’ efforts to prevent disease and improve the health of patients by helping to ensure access to evidence-based clinical preventive services. As such, we urge you to retain the previously appointed members of the USPSTF and commit to the long-standing process of regular meetings to ensure their important work can continue without interruption,» the AMA wrote.

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Meanwhile, a group of physicians, including those from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, America’s Frontline Doctors and the Pennsylvania Direct Primary Care Association, signed another letter in support of possible changes.

The signers wrote that new members should have an «ideological balance to develop recommendations based on facts and science.»

Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for an updated comment.

Russia launched its largest attack of the month against Ukraine while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders at the White House.

The attack also comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Trump in Alaska last Friday, during which Putin refused an immediate ceasefire and demanded that Ukraine give up its eastern Donetsk region in exchange for an end to the conflict that began with a February 2022 invasion by Moscow. Trump later said he had spoken on the phone with Putin about arrangements for a meeting between the Russian president and Zelenskyy.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles into Ukraine on Monday night and into Tuesday, but that 230 drones and six missiles were intercepted or suppressed. The air force reported that 40 drones and four missiles struck across 16 locations, and debris was said to have fallen on three sites.

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«While hard work to advance peace was underway in Washington, D.C. … Moscow continued to do the opposite of peace: more strikes and destruction,» Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. «This once again demonstrates how critical it is to end the killing, achieve a lasting peace, and ensure robust security guarantees.»

Energy infrastructure in the central Poltava region was a target of the strikes, according to Ukraine’s Energy Ministry. The casualty figures were not immediately released by officials.

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Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles into Ukraine. (Getty Images)

«As a result of the attack, large-scale fires broke out,» the ministry said in a statement.

Oil refining and gas facilities were attacked, the ministry added, saying the strikes were the latest «systematic terrorist attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which is a direct violation of international humanitarian law.»

The attack was the largest since Russia launched 309 drones and eight missiles into Ukraine on July 31, according to the air force.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 23 Ukrainian drones on Monday night and into Tuesday morning.

The attack was the largest since Russia launched 309 drones and eight missiles into Ukraine on July 31. (Getty Images)

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Both sides have been targeting infrastructure, including oil facilities.

Zelenskyy had criticized Moscow for earlier strikes on Monday ahead of his meeting at the White House in which at least 14 people were killed and dozens more were injured.

«The Russian war machine continues to destroy lives despite everything. Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, as well as to humiliate diplomatic efforts. That is precisely why we are seeking assistance to put an end to the killings,» he wrote Monday morning on X.

Reuters contributed to this report.