President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the creation of a new federal advisory commission to “make America healthy again.” The first meeting will be held on May 18th (PDF).
The name is evocative. Ambition is necessary.
Because the truth is this: America’s health care is underserved in a way that ignores both our spending and our scientific capacity. We spend more money than any other country in the world, yet we live shorter lives and get more sick.
If this commission really matters, it should instead face uncomfortable truths and force a reorientation of the system toward what actually makes people healthy.
Here are five ideas to help you set that challenge.
1. All sectors should look inward before looking outward.
There is no end to the responsibility on the medical side.
Payers blame clinicians. Clinicians blame drug companies. Pharmaceutical companies are blaming regulators. Regulators blame politics. The patient is then left to decide how to deal with the consequences.
However, the reality is both simple and difficult. All sectors contribute to the current situation.
Too often, industry associations designed to represent collective interests have become a means to protect the status quo.
This moment calls for something different. It requires a degree of patriotism that transcends institutional self-interest.
All sectors need to ask harder questions. What is our role in slowing progress and what do we want to change about ourselves?
2. Measure what actually matters: health, not just financial performance.
Healthcare organizations have become very sophisticated in how they measure financial performance.
But when we ask a simpler question: Are the people we serve healthier? The answer is far less clear-cut.
This is not a measurement issue. That’s a priority.
The Commission should promote fundamental change. Organizations should be evaluated, evaluated, and ranked based on their ability to maintain population health. In addition to treating diseases, there are also ways to prevent them.
Imagine a world where health systems, health plans, and even life sciences companies compete on long-term health outcomes, where their reputations are tied not to size or profitability but to demonstrable improvements in population health.
What we measure shapes our behavior. And now we’re measuring the wrong thing.
3. Rebuilding trust in science as a national responsibility
At no time in modern history has the United States had more scientific capacity, and at no time has confidence in that capacity felt more fragile.
Science isn’t perfect. But it remains the most reliable tool for understanding what works, what doesn’t, and what will improve human health at scale.
Without a common commitment to the evidence, the entire premise of “making America healthy again” will crumble and fragment, beliefs will outweigh evidence and misinformation will spread faster than intervention.
The commission must get serious about rebuilding trust in science. That means drawing clear lines. Evidence-based interventions are not optional. They are basic.
4. Embrace technology-enabled humanism
Technology is often seen as either the solution to medical problems or their cause.
Both views miss the point.
The real opportunity lies in so-called technological humanism.
Artificial intelligence, remote monitoring, and digital tools will dramatically expand access, improve diagnosis, and personalize care. However, they cannot replace the human relationships that are central to healing.
Without proper implementation, pieces of technology become even more worrisome. If successfully implemented, it strengthens the connection between patients and clinicians.
The Commission should be clear in its stance: technology augments humanity, not replaces it. That means designing systems that have more clinicians, not fewer.
5. Ensure that all Americans have access to prevention-based health care.
Finally, any serious effort to improve the health of our population must start with access to primary care.
This is not temporary access. Not fragmented access. But a true medical practice is a consistent, long-term relationship with a primary care team that understands the patient, their history, and their goals.
However, they are often under-resourced, low-priority, and disconnected from the rest of the system.
Family physicians and primary care teams are uniquely positioned to serve as the front line of this effort. But they can’t do it alone. They require infrastructure, payment models, and policy adjustments that support prevention as well as intervention.
Making America healthy again requires re-centering primary care.
call to action
The creation of a federal advisory committee is not a solution in itself. In other words, it’s an opportunity.
Success in this effort will require courage from policymakers, industry leaders, and all of us with a stake in the systems that exist today.
The question is not whether we know what to do.
The question is whether you are ultimately willing to do it.
R. Sean Martin is CEO and Vice President of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Sachin H. JainDoctor of Medicine, CEO of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan.
