Kennedy Announces Autism Research Initiative Using Medicare and Medicaid Data
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proposes a partnership to study autism root causes using Medicaid and Medicare data, despite skepticism from experts.
Summary
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a collaboration between NIH and CMS to study autism using Medicare and Medicaid data. This initiative aims to uncover autism's root causes through a real-world data platform, evaluating diagnosis trends and health outcomes. However, experts caution that this type of data may not address the key questions about autism's origins. The U.S. autism rate has risen to 1 in 31 children, prompting concern and debate over contributing factors, while Kennedy's history of promoting vaccine-autism links raises alarm among researchers.
Articles (3)
- The NIH and CMS partnership aims to research autism's causes by collecting extensive health data, although experts question its potential effectiveness in uncovering true root causes.
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emphasizes transparency in this research effort, despite concerns regarding the potential implications of his past views linking vaccines to autism.
- Autism rates are rising, and researchers stress that the increase is likely due to better awareness and diagnosis rather than a single causal factor.
Associated Press·25d· "…The problem is that this isn’t the kind of data needed to answer questions about autism’s causes, said Helen Tager-Flusberg, professor emerita at Boston University who leads a new Coalition of Autism Scientists pushing back on Kennedy’s characterizations of the condition."
USA TODAY·25d· "…Rates of autism spectrum disorder among U.S. children reached a record level in 2022, continuing a recent trend of increasing prevalence."