President Donald Trump and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. have announced the creation of a new Federal Advisory Committee to “Make America Healthy Again.” It will meet for the first time on May 18 (PDF).
The name is evocative. The ambition is necessary.
Because the truth is this: American healthcare is underdelivering in ways that defy both our spending and our scientific capabilities. We spend more than any nation in the world, yet we live shorter, sicker lives.
If this committee is to truly matter, it must instead confront uncomfortable truths and force a reorientation of the system toward what actually makes people healthy.
We offer five ideas to help set that agenda.
1. Every sector must look inward before looking outward
Healthcare has no shortage of blame.
Payers blame clinicians. Clinicians blame pharmaceutical companies. Pharmaceutical companies blame regulators. Regulators blame politics. And patients are left navigating the consequences.
But the reality is simpler and harder: every sector has contributed to the current state of affairs.
Too often, industry associations—designed to represent collective interests—have become vehicles for protecting the status quo.
This moment demands something different. It demands a degree of patriotism that transcends institutional self-interest.
Every sector must ask a harder question: What is our role in slowing progress—and what are we willing to change about ourselves?
2. Measure what actually matters: health, not just financial performance
Healthcare organizations are extraordinarily sophisticated in how they measure financial performance.
But ask a simpler question—are the people we serve getting healthier?—and the answers become far less clear.
This is not a measurement problem. It is a priority problem.
The committee should push for a fundamental shift: organizations should be measured, rated and ranked based on their ability to keep populations healthy. Not just how they treat illness, but how they prevent it.
Imagine a world in which health systems, health plans and even life sciences companies competed on longitudinal health outcomes, where reputation was tied not to size or profitability but to demonstrable improvements in population health.
What we measure shapes what we do. And right now, we are measuring the wrong things.
3. Rebuild trust in science as a national imperative
At no point in modern history has the U.S. possessed more scientific capability—and at no point has trust in that capability felt more fragile.
Science is not perfect. But it remains our most reliable tool for understanding what works, what doesn’t, and what improves human health at scale.
Without a shared commitment to evidence, the entire premise of “making America healthy again” collapses into fragmentation, where belief outpaces proof and misinformation spreads faster than intervention.
The committee must take seriously the work of rebuilding trust in science. That means drawing a clear line: evidence-based interventions are not optional. They are foundational.
4. Embrace technology-enabled humanism
Technology is often framed as either the solution to healthcare’s problems or the source of them.
Both views miss the point.
The real opportunity lies in what we would call technology-enabled humanism.
Artificial intelligence, remote monitoring and digital tools can dramatically expand access, improve diagnosis and personalize care. But they cannot replace the human relationships that sit at the center of healing.
If deployed poorly, technology fragments care further. If deployed well, it strengthens the connection between patients and clinicians.
The committee should articulate a clear posture: technology should amplify humanity, not replace it. That means designing systems where clinicians are more present, not less.
5. Ensure every American has a medical home rooted in prevention
Finally, any serious effort to improve national health must start with access to primary care.
Not episodic access. Not fragmented access. But a true medical home—a consistent, longitudinal relationship with a primary care team that understands the patient, their history and their goals.
Yet too often, they are under-resourced, under-prioritized and disconnected from the rest of the system.
Family physicians and primary care teams are uniquely positioned to serve as the front line of this effort. But they cannot do it alone. They need infrastructure, payment models and policy alignment that support prevention as much as intervention.
Making America healthy again will require making primary care central again.
A call to action
The creation of a Federal Advisory Committee is not, by itself, a solution. At best, it is an opportunity.
If this effort is to succeed, it will require courage—from policymakers, from industry leaders and from all of us who have a stake in the system as it exists today.
The question is not whether we know what to do.
The question is whether we are finally willing to do it.
R. Shawn Martin is CEO and EVP of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Sachin H. Jain, M.D., is CEO of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan.