HHS Secretary RFK Jr. announces effort with NIH, Medicare, Medicaid to find root cause of autism

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Wednesday a partnership between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Institutes of Health to find the root cause of autism. 

“We’re using this partnership to uncover the root causes of autism and other chronic diseases,” Kennedy said in a statement, according to The Hill newspaper. “We’re pulling back the curtain—with full transparency and accountability — to deliver the honest answers families have waited far too long to hear.”

The partnership will put emphasis on studying electronic medical records, claims data and consumer wearables.

Last month, Kennedy announced that HHS would be conducting massive research into autism with a goal of finding a cause by September.

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report shows autism now impacts 1-in-31 children in the United States. 

The agency’s previous and most recent study, released in 2020, showed 1-in-36 children had autism, an increase from a 2018 study where it was 1-in-44.

As of now, the agency has not declared autism an epidemic.