Americans are increasingly waiting weeks or even months to get an appointment to see a health care specialist^[1].

This delay comes at a time when the population of aging adults is rising dramatically. By 2050, the number of adults over 85 is expected to triple^[2], which will intensify the strain on an already stretched health care system. We wrote about this worsening challenge and its implications for the health care...

On March 27, 2025, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced plans to dramatically transform the department^[1]. HHS is the umbrella agency responsible for pandemic preparedness, biomedical research, food safety and many other health-related activities^[2].

In a video posted that afternoon, Kennedy said the cuts and reorganization to HHS aim to “streamline our agency” and “radically improve...