More Trump Healthcare Nominations Largely Aligned With Kennedy

Following President-elect Donald Trump’s Nov. 14 announcement of the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, there have seen several more nominations for leadership in the 13 HHS divisions, including Dr. Mehmet Oz (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) on Nov. 19, Dr. Marty Makary (US Food and Drug Administration) and Dr. Dave Weldon (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) on Nov. 22, and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (National Institutes of Health) on Nov. 26. Overall, we think these selections show a consistent theme of introducing potential disruptive forces to US healthcare, although their lack of experience and the power of career staffers in these agencies could serve to blunt any significant proposed changes. We continue to see obesity drugs and vaccines as areas of potential scrutiny, although without any clarity on proposals, we’re not making any changes to our fair value estimates following these announcements.