In direct response to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial health policies, a coalition of scientists and public health experts released an evidence-based alternative report titled “Improving the Health of Americans Together” (IHAT), challenging what they characterize as Kennedy’s “fake MAHA agenda” built on pseudoscience and misinformation.

The 19-page report, authored by Defend Public Health, presents a framework addressing the root causes of illness in America while directly refuting many of Kennedy’s policy positions that have drawn widespread criticism from the medical and scientific communities since his confirmation earlier this year.

The IHAT report begins with a scathing critique of Kennedy’s original “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) report, which was released in May but has faced intense scrutiny for containing fabricated citations and misrepresenting scientific studies.

“Secretary Kennedy now offers his supposed solutions to the problems outlined in May. But solutions based on distorted opinions and ignored facts cannot advance sound health policy,” the report states.

Unlike Kennedy’s MAHA report, which has been criticized for its anti-vaccine stance and disregard for social determinants of health, the IHAT framework centers on evidence-based interventions across seven critical areas:

Food Safety and Security: The report calls for fully funding federal food safety inspections and addressing food deserts, directly countering the Trump administration’s cuts to FDA food safety programs. It emphasizes protecting agricultural workers and maintaining food assistance programs like SNAP, which faces unprecedented cuts under current policies.

Physical Activity Access: Rather than simply telling Americans to exercise more, the report addresses systemic barriers including poverty, lack of safe public spaces, and inadequate infrastructure that prevent many Americans from engaging in physical activity.

Vaccine Access and Equity: The report strongly advocates for restoring the dismissed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) members and expanding vaccination programs. Kennedy fired all 17 ACIP members in June, replacing them with largely unqualified individuals, several with anti-vaccine backgrounds.

Healthcare Access Expansion: The authors argue for universal healthcare coverage, noting that 28% of Americans delayed medical care due to cost in 2023, while Kennedy’s policies have primarily focused on cutting healthcare programs.

Kennedy’s tenure has been marked by massive staff cuts affecting nearly 20,000 federal health workers, termination of mRNA vaccine research, and threats to ban government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals.

The American Public Health Association called for Kennedy’s resignation in April, citing “implicit and explicit bias and complete disregard for science”. The American Medical Association passed an emergency resolution demanding reversal of Kennedy’s ACIP dismissals.

The IHAT report echoes that call.

“The single most important step toward improving the health of Americans together would be to remove Kennedy from his role as HHS Secretary as quickly as possible. Kennedy is wholly unqualified to oversee the scientific and healthcare functions of the United States government. For decades, he has established himself as an anti-vaccine advocate, and has been richly rewarded financially for these activities, earning millions of dollars for spreading misinformation about vaccines, publishing anti-science, anti-vaccine books, and for his role in lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers. Kennedy has suggested that he does not believe that germs cause illness. All of these factors point to a profound misunderstanding or willful denial of established science. These characteristics alone are disqualifying for the position of HHS Secretary.”