Psychiatrists call for RFK Jr. to be replaced as health secretary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nan caput of nan Department of Health and Human Services, successful nan Oval Office connected Sept. 30. Psychiatrists opportunity caller gains successful constituent maltreatment curen are successful jeopardy nether his leadership. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

Psychiatrists person joined different nationalist wellness groups successful calling for nan removal of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arsenic wellness secretary.

Two psychiatry organizations — the Southern California Psychiatry Society and nan precocious formed grassroots Committee to Protect Public Mental Health — person released statements saying that nan actions of nan leader of nan Department of Health and Human Services person accrued stigma, instilled fearfulness and wounded entree to intelligence wellness and addiction care.

"As physicians committed to evidence-based care, we are alarmed by nan guidance of HHS nether Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr," nan Committee to Protect Public Mental Health said successful a statement.

HHS responds

"Secretary Kennedy remains firmly committed to delivering connected President Trump's committedness to Make America Healthy Again by dismantling nan grounded position quo, restoring nationalist spot successful wellness institutions, and ensuring nan transparency, accountability, and decision-making powerfulness nan American group voted for," Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for nan national wellness department, wrote to NPR successful an email.

The Southern California Psychiatry Society represents much than 1,000 clinicians; nan Committee to Protect Public Mental Health has conscionable complete 50 members.

In caller years, nan national authorities had taken a starring domiciled successful backing efforts to reside superior intelligence unwellness and constituent usage done nan Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administrations (SAMHSA), notes Dr. Steven Sharfstein, a past president of nan American Psychiatric Association and an adjunct professor of psychiatry astatine Johns Hopkins University.

Those efforts had started to salary off, he adds. "There's been awesome advancement successful reducing nan number of overdose deaths successful nan state arsenic a consequence of these initiatives," he says.

But nan firing of unit astatine SAMHSA earlier this twelvemonth and nan wellness secretary's efforts to shutter nan agency person wounded those efforts, says Sharfstein, who's besides a founding personnel of nan Committee to Protect Public Mental Health.

"RFK Jr. is trying to destruct nan national agency that is responsible for supporting states and localities pinch overdose prevention," says Dr. Eric Rafla-Yuan, a San Diego-based psychiatrist and a personnel of nan Committee to Protect Public Mental Health. "This is precisely other of nan guidance that we request to beryllium going."

Psychiatric medications questioned

Both of nan organizations are besides concerned astir nan wellness secretary's attacks connected psychiatric medications, including successful nan Make Our Children Healthy Again strategy, which is besides known arsenic The MAHA report

The MAHA report "specifically misrepresents nan information connected psychotropic medications, really ignoring nan afloat assemblage of nan technological literature," says Dr. Emily Wood, co-chair of nan Southern California Psychiatric Association. "And it is calling for various ways to limit entree to psychiatric medications, which is highly disturbing arsenic these are medications that are captious for galore individuals pinch depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, ADHD and galore disorders."

"This misrepresentation increases stigma, spreads fear, and tin support group from reaching retired for thief erstwhile they request it most," according to nan connection by nan Southern California Psychiatric Association. "The study uses these inaccurate statements arsenic a ground for taking action to restrict entree to captious services that easiness suffering, reconstruct functioning, and forestall suicide."

Dr. Sharfstein says he's besides concerned astir nan effect of cuts to Medicaid connected group pinch superior intelligence unwellness (SMIs), which includes conditions for illustration schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. According to nan National Institute of Mental Health, astir 6% of American adults unrecorded pinch an SMI. Given nan debilitating quality of SMIs, patients thin to beryllium poor, explains Sharfstein.

"They can't spend nan medications," he says. "And Medicaid is what they trust on. But it's not conscionable medications. It's outpatient treatment. It's entree to acute inpatient care."

As cuts to Medicaid rotation out, entree to attraction for intelligence unwellness and addiction will get progressively "compromised," says Sharfstein. "And we'll spot a benignant of rolling situation occur."

His group is calling connected lawmakers to switch Kennedy pinch personification trained successful nationalist wellness and evidence-based care. "To protect patients, safeguard technological integrity, and reconstruct nationalist trust, we subordinate our colleagues successful calling connected nan President to region Secretary Kennedy and name a qualified, evidence-driven leader without delay," according to nan statement.