HHS remarks call for 'radical transparency' and a Maha Commission to study U.S. chronic-disease decline

An unnamed U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official in remarks posted by HHS said President Trump signed an executive order creating the "Maha Commission" to study the causes of a long-term decline in U.S. health and promised "radical transparency" across the department to reverse what the speaker described as an epidemic of chronic disease.

The speaker told HHS staff that chronic conditions are widespread in the United States and stressed the department should restore public trust through openness and by removing conflicts of interest. The official said HHS agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration once set a global gold standard for scientific integrity and should regain that reputation.

Why it matters: The remarks tie HHS leadership priorities to a formal federal action, the executive order establishing the Maha Commission, and to programmatic goals affecting Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. If implemented as described, the initiative could shape research priorities and policy debates about prevention, regulation and health-care spending.

In the speech the speaker characterized chronic disease as a major driver of high U.S. health spending and cited several prevalence figures while attributing them to the speaker. Those statements included that "6 out of every 10 adults have at least one chronic disease," that "4 in 10 have two or more," and that autism now “affects 1 in every 36 kids.” The speaker said more than 60 million Americans are served by Medicare and Medicaid combined and said technologies used to detect waste and fraud could also be used to improve service for beneficiaries.

The speaker announced that the Maha Commission will convene representatives from across viewpoints to study a wide array of possible contributors to worsening health trends. The list the speaker said the commission will investigate included: the childhood vaccine schedule; electromagnetic radiation; glyphosate and other pesticides; ultra-processed foods; artificial food additives; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other psychiatric drugs; per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA); and microplastics. "Nothing is gonna be off limits," the speaker said.

The remarks repeatedly framed the department's response around transparency and reproducibility of research. The speaker said HHS should make data and policy processes so open that citizens would not need to file Freedom of Information Act requests to access information. The official also pledged to reduce politicization and the influence of money on science, and to restore a culture of competency, ethics and professionalism at HHS.

The speaker invoked historical examples in describing the desired reputation for HHS agencies, citing scientists such as Frances Kelsey and other historical figures associated with public health research. The transcript corrects variant spellings used in the remarks to standard forms for agencies and historical names when referenced in the article text.

What the remarks do not establish: The speech lays out investigative priorities and aspirational departmental goals but does not specify timelines, membership of the Maha Commission, budgetary resources, or regulatory actions to be taken. The executive order creating the commission was described as signed by the president; details about the commission's structure, reporting deadlines or required funding were not specified in the remarks.

The speaker closed by urging HHS staff to begin work and to commit to the department's stated goals of transparency, informed choice and integrity.