On February 13, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. The Commission will evaluate the current understanding around chronic disease in the United States and take steps to lower chronic disease rates, especially in children.
The executive order identifies a need to adopt “fresh thinking” on topics that span multiple industries, including nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication and treatments, the effects of new technological habits, environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety.
The Commission will be chaired by recently confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Vince Haley, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, will serve as Executive Director. The group will also include the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, the Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Director of the National Institutes of Health, among others.
Policy goals of the Commission
According to the establishing executive order, “it shall be the policy of the Federal Government to aggressively combat the critical health challenges facing our citizens, including the rising rates of mental health disorders, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.” This central policy is the focus of the newly formed Commission.
Some of the supporting guidelines for achieving this goal include the following:
- All federally funded health research should provide transparency and open-source data, and should avoid or eliminate conflicts of interest that skew outcomes and perpetuate distrust;
- Health-related research funded by the federal government should prioritize gold-standard research on the root causes of why Americans are getting sick;
- Agencies shall work with farmers to ensure that United States food is healthy, abundant, and affordable; and
- Agencies shall ensure the availability of expanded treatment options and the flexibility for health insurance coverage to provide benefits that support beneficial lifestyle changes and disease prevention.
Throughout the executive order, emphasis is placed on addressing chronic illness in children, and it is noted that an estimated 30 million children in the U.S. had at least one health condition in 2022. The first directive of the Commission is to conduct a study of the scope of childhood chronic disease and any potential contributing factors. Within 100 days, the Commission must submit a Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment to the president.
The Commission is to consider many areas in the assessment, including a comparison of childhood chronic disease in the U.S. to other countries and an evaluation of potential risks using rigorous and transparent data. Specifically, the potential threats posed to children by the over-utilization of medication, certain food ingredients, chemicals, and other exposures. Other areas that should be considered in the assessment are identifying and reporting on best practices for preventing childhood health issues, and restoring the integrity of science by eliminating “undue industry influence, releasing findings and underlying data to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law, and increasing methodological rigor.”
Looking ahead
While the Commission is currently in the review and analysis phase, it is likely to move quickly towards the rule-making phase. The Trump Administration has identified health regulations as a priority, and this executive order is the first step in the process. Although the specifics of potential reforms remain unclear, members of the food and drink and pharmaceutical industries should expect regulatory changes over the next four years.
Legal experts with DLA Piper highlight several potential implications for businesses, including increased scrutiny of ingredients in the food supply, changes to nutrition policy such as overhauling dietary guidelines, and heightened scrutiny of the use of prescription medicines to treat chronic disease, cognitive differences, and mental health conditions.
The experts also note that both the House and Senate have established their own MAHA caucuses, which are aligned with the Trump Administration on goals to lower the rates of chronic illness. This coordinated effort means that businesses may face new requirements from both regulators and policymakers.
Businesses should closely follow progress of the Commission and take advantage of opportunities to engage during the process. They should monitor activity in Congress, whether it be hearings on key issues or the introduction of new legislation. It will also remain critical for businesses to regularly assess their recall and communications plans to account for emerging risks and to ensure transparency with customers.
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Tags: health, Health and wellness, health concerns, Healthcare, illness, legal, United States