Statement from Courtney Bugler, President and CEO of ZERO Prostate Cancer, on New USPSTF Appointments

Yesterday's announcement of eight new U.S. Preventive Services Task Force appointments was a critical opportunity to begin meaningful reform, and it was missed.

The Task Force is currently developing an updated prostate cancer screening recommendation that will shape the standard of care for millions of men across the country. Yet not one of the new appointees brings prostate cancer expertise. More fundamentally, none represent the patient perspective. Every recommendation this body issues lands on real people: patients navigating complex diagnoses, families at high risk, and communities, particularly Black men, who already face steep disparities and are too often underrepresented in aggregate clinical data. Clinicians and researchers examine evidence from an essential vantage point, but trained patient advocates bring what clinical data alone cannot: firsthand understanding of where the evidence ends, where assumptions begin, and how guidelines play out in practice. 

We also note that the recent appointments have done nothing to address the ongoing lack of transparency in how the Task Force conducts its deliberations. When outside panels and specialists are contributing to the prostate cancer recommendation, their identities and methodologies should be fully open to the public. Trust is earned through transparency, not insular decision-making. Before publishing any final recommendation, the Task Force must provide a genuine, rigorous public notice-and-comment period so patients, clinicians, and researchers can see the evidence being weighed. 

Finally, adding a health economist raises questions about the Task Force’s role. While cost-effectiveness is part of its statutory purview, we believe that the USPSTF’s top priority must remain assessing the clinical science. In the United States, CMS and other payers primarily handle cost evaluations and access decisions. Where economic value enters the USPSTF conversation, we hope the Task Force’s recommendations reflect what real-world evidence shows: early detection saves lives, prevents late-stage suffering, and lowers the long-term burden on our healthcare system. 

Secretary Kennedy has acknowledged that the Task Force needs reform, but true reform requires including the very voices most affected by its decisions. ZERO Prostate Cancer urges the Secretary and the Task Force to immediately take three necessary steps: appoint voting, trained patient advocates to the panel; commit to an accountable, transparent public comment process before finalizing the prostate cancer recommendation; and weigh economic judgments with extreme care to ensure that cost concerns do not overshadow what the science says about patient care. ZERO Prostate Cancer stands ready to recommend qualified advocates and work as an active partner to build a system that earns the trust of the patients who depend on it.