Op-ed by Irwin Redlener in The Hill
After their shameful approval of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions has an opportunity to redeem itself when it considers the confirmation of Dr. Casey Means to serve as U.S. surgeon general.
The hope is that senators will, this time, demonstrate that expertise, integrity, and the ability to communicate legitimate information are mandatory for senior federal health officials.
Let’s be clear about why Means is a spectacularly inappropriate choice to be America’s doctor. Yes, she has a medical diploma. But, she did not complete her medical training and holds no current license to practice medicine.
Dr. Means is actually an entrepreneurial wellness influencer who has aligned herself with what critics describe as fringe “metabolic-wellness” movements, rather than seeming to understand the bedrock of conventional public‐health practice. No wonder Kennedy is a big fan.
The surgeon general is the nation’s chief communicator and advocate for evidence-based medicine and public health guidance. Yet, the senators will be considering someone whose practice consists of promoting unproven alternative models of health care and prevention, developing commercial ventures, and focusing on influencer platforms.
As seen in The Hill
