U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promoted his often controversial efforts to reform American health before a receptive, partisan crowd in the state Capitol Rotunda Wednesday.
Piggybacking off of President Donald Trump’s popular slogan, he frequently refers to it as his “Make America Healthy Again” plan.
On a national level, Kennedy has rolled back vaccine recommendations against the broader scientific consensus and promoted work requirements for food assistance programs, though many advocates worry that the added red tape will worsen the nation’s hunger crisis.
“The Take Back Your Health tour is about telling the truth and recognizing the extraordinary leadership of legislatures who are driving MAHA state by state,” said Kennedy. “It’s all about accountability, and it’s about putting families — especially children — back at the center of American health care.”
Kennedy compared the United States with Europe a few times in his speech, noting spending and health disparities between the wealthy regions.
“Americans pay two-to-three times what Europeans pay, or our peer nations pay, for health care, and yet we have the worst results and the worst outcomes in the developed world,” he said.
Many European countries with lower spending and better health outcomes have universal health systems or take socialized approaches where government sponsors and funds coverage. Whereas Americans primarily get their health care insurance through their employers — Trump’s budget priority bill over the summer cut funding for government programs like Medicaid.
Government control gives those countries more control over health care spending, and some may refuse to pay higher prices for certain drugs — including semaglutides used for weight loss like Ozempic or Wegovy. A dose of each in 2023 might cost an American $936 or $1,349, respectively, compared to $103 and $328 in Germany, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.
Securing voluntary agreements from drug companies to lower prices has been a cornerstone of Trump’s health care plan, which would match costs to the “most favored nation.” Kennedy noted that these efforts had been paired with threatened tariffs to push for higher drug prices in Europe.
“We already suffer the highest chronic disease burden on Earth and our children are getting sicker by the day,” Kennedy continued. “It’s the result of decades of bad policy choices that have transformed America’s once exemplary health care system into a sick care system driven by perverse incentives that reward every participant — doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies — with more money for keeping us sick, than they can make from getting us better or preventing disease.”
The United States has higher rates of chronic illness such as diabetes, hypertension or asthma compared to its wealthy peers, as detailed by the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. The country also leads in obesity, which can be a risk factor for other illnesses. The underlying causes for obesity are still being studied, though stress, food insecurity and lack of time or access to leisure and recreation play a role.
Kennedy claimed that “most” chronic diseases were “diet preventable or diet induced,” touting his recently introduced food pyramid.
“We’re telling Americans it’s time to start eating real food,” he said. “They’re getting processed food now. They’re not going to do that anymore; they’re going to get real food, and it’s going to drive changes in the marketplace.”
State Rep. David Rowe (R-Union), who emceed the event, said the legislature sought “commonsense, bipartisan solutions to make healthier food more accessible and health care more affordable.”
As proof, he pointed to the Healthy PA package introduced by Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny) last spring.
The eight-bill effort had Democratic sponsors for some proposals. Measures included food additive disclosures and labeling, prohibiting products with certain food dyes, a state definition for ultraprocessed foods, banning certain commercial pesticides and incentivizing cover crops.
Just one has advanced through a committee: a resolution to declare August as Wellness Month in the commonwealth.
Some of those ideas have had a better reception in other states, which have moved to ban synthetic dyes and reform nutrition standards to align with the MAHA agenda — part of a nationwide effort to curry favor and gain funding from Kennedy’s agency.
Rep. Robert Leadbeter (R-Columbia), a cosponsor of one Healthy PA proposal, pointed specifically to House Bill 1131, which would have banned several artificial food dyes from public schools.
“As a father, I thought of my children and the role that food plays in their development every single day. The role that it plays in their ability to learn and their long-term health … what our children eat matters,” said Leadbeter.
He invoked the process of hatching an egg as a homeschooled child, which “is not a passive task,” but rather involves extraordinary, daily effort.
“We must keep at this task every single day. We must keep doing the work even when the results are not immediately visible,” said Leadbeter. “In time, as we have already begun to see thanks to Sec. Kennedy’s strong leadership, we will hatch the future of America’s health and we will eat real food.”
Despite that bipartisan approach legislatively, several Democrats pushed back against Kennedy’s “campaign of misinformation,” specifically citing his opposition to vaccines.
“Vaccines are among the most thoroughly studied medical interventions in history. The scientific consensus is clear: Routine childhood immunizations are safe, effective and essential to preventing serious and sometimes deadly diseases,” said Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny), who chairs the chamber’s health committee.
“When figures such as Kennedy undermine that consensus, vaccination rates fall – and preventable illnesses come roaring back. The harm from this kind of rhetoric is real and measurable.”
The United States is at risk of losing its status for “eradicating” measles, a highly contagious virus with recent outbreaks in several states as vaccine uptake rates fall. States like Pennsylvania have established their own guidelines in response to Kennedy’s efforts.
Others criticized state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican candidate for governor, for appearing alongside Kennedy.
“Secretary Kennedy came to Pennsylvania because he wants to bring Washington’s chaos and division to the commonwealth, and Stacy Garrity is campaigning with him because that is exactly what she plans to do as governor,” said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Eugene DePasquale in a statement.
Garrity, who has the endorsement of her party but must win the primary vote in May, is unopposed so far. She’s challenging Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is running for reelection. On Twitter, Shapiro criticized the visit, summarizing the “damage” of Kennedy in his last year, targeting his stance on vaccines.
“As he visits Pennsylvania today, he should know: we will stand up to his attempts to sow chaos and endanger public health every step of the way,” Shapiro wrote.
Source: PA Capital-Star