Kennedy has "spiritual mandate" to reform U.S. health system, Calley Means says
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Calley Means at Axios' Future of Health Summit in D.C. on May 14. Photo: Axios
There is "a war on the American public having transparency" about their health and their treatment, White House health adviser Calley Means said Wednesday at Axios' Future of Health Summit in D.C.
Why it matters: The former health influencer turned White House aide has become an ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who shares his disillusionment with the U.S. medical system.
- Kennedy "has a spiritual mandate" from voters "to reform our broken institution," Means told Axios' Maya Goldman.
- He said the American people have a "crisis of trust" in health care institutions.
Zoom in: "I'm in the party of Elon Musk, who saw an environmental catastrophe that everyone on the left was complaining about for years and years and years, and has become the greatest environmentalist in the history of modern civilization," Means said.
- The White House adviser said he believes there are "almost genocidal levels of children's chronic disease" and Trump ordered an assessment via executive order to find out why.
- He said the upcoming report, which he called "the strongest statement in the history of the U.S. government," shows 95% of health care spending is on chronic disease.
- Means argued that the U.S. doesn't need to "spend more on health care" and blamed ultra-processed foods, pesticides, environmental toxins and "overmedicalization" for chronic disease in America.
Zoom out: Responding to the Trump administration's point "that we are going bankrupt from health care costs," Means said, they're "going to take a sledgehammer to waste, fraud and abuse" in upcoming budget proposals.
Catch up quick: Means was tapped in March to become a "special government employee" and implement the Trump administration's plan to address chronic illness.
- He's specifically focused on food policy.
Zoom out: His sister, Casey Means, a wellness influencer, was tapped by the White House this month to serve as surgeon general.
Go deeper: Meet the siblings tapped for RFK's health agenda
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details, and the headline corrected to state that Means says Kennedy (not Means himself) has the "spiritual mandate."
