Dr. Casey Means, a wellness influencer and entrepreneur nominated by Donald Trump for Surgeon General, faced questioning during her confirmation hearing. Concerns arose due to her inactive medical license and unconventional views on healthcare, particularly her emphasis on lifestyle changes and criticism of the current medical system. Her nomination follows her work with Levels, a health tracking app, and her alignment with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' movement.
Wellness influencer and entrepreneur Dr. Casey Means faced tough questions on Wednesday during her confirmation hearing . Here’s what to know: Means, 38, is a wellness influencer, author and entrepreneur who is President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next surgeon general .
Her hearing with the Senate health committee was happening Wednesday. She was nominated for the role last May. Her confirmation hearing was rescheduled from last October, when she went into labor the day she was set to appear.Means earned her medical degree from Stanford University, but she dropped out of her residency program in Oregon in 2018, and her license to practice is inactive.She has grown her public profile in part with a compelling origin story that seeks to explain why she left her residency and conventional medicine.She co-founded Levels, a nutrition, sleep and exercise-tracking app that can also give users insights from blood tests and continuous glucose monitors. Her brother, Calley Means, also works for the Trump administration as a senior adviser to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.RELATED: New Red Cross data reveals 1 in 5 blood donors show signs of prediabetes and diabetesMeans' message that dietary and lifestyle changes are needed to heal an ill and struggling nation align closely with that of her ally Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his "Make America Healthy Again" movement. Means has argued that the medical system is incentivized not to look at the root causes of illness but instead to maintain profits by keeping patients sick and coming back for more prescription drugs and procedures."Our nation is angry, exhausted, and hurting from preventable diseases," the 38-year-old said in Washington before the Senate health committee Wednesday. "If we’re addressing shared root causes, we’re going to be able to stop the whack-a-mole medicine that’s not working for us and that is so costly."As the nation’s doctor, the surgeon general is a leader for Americans and health officials on public health issues. If confirmed, Means would be empowered to issue advisories that warn of public health threats. Senators on Wednesday asked Means about several specific incidents in which they said she didn’t disclose a financial relationship while promoting a product in her influencer capacity. Financial disclosures show she made hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting health and wellness products, including specialty basil seed supplements, teas and elixirs, probiotic products and a prepared meal delivery service. Influencers who endorse or promote products in exchange for payment or something else of value are required by the Federal Trade Commission to make a clear and conspicuous disclosure of any business, family or personal relationship. While Means did provide disclosures about newsletter sponsors, the Associated Press found in other cases Means did not always tell her audience when she had a connection to the companies she promoted. In an ethics filing, Means said that if she is confirmed for the post by the full Senate, she will resign from her position with Levels and forfeit or divest stock options and stock in the company. She also pledged to stop working for Rupa, a specialty lab work company for which she developed an online course. While she may continue receiving royalty payments from her book "Good Energy," she will not promote it, the filing said.RELATED: States sue Trump administration over child vaccine policy. What we knowMeans has largely steered clear of Kennedy’s debunked views on vaccines, senators from both parties sought clear answers Wednesday from her on how she would approach the issue if confirmed.Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate health committee, asked Means whether she would encourage Americans to vaccinate against flu and measles amid outbreaks across the U.S. She declined to make such a commitment, instead emphasizing the importance of informed consent between patients and their personal physicians.Cassidy also asked Means whether she believes that vaccines may contribute to autism, a claim that Kennedy has embraced despite overwhelming research to the contrary.""I do accept that evidence," she said. "I also think that science is never settled." She said she looked forward to seeing the results of the federal health department's effort to study environmental contributors to the disorder.The committee will consider whether to advance Means’ nomination, in which case it would go to a vote in the full Senate.
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Casey Means faces the Senate health committee in a confirmation hearing to be US surgeon generalWellness influencer and entrepreneur Dr. Casey Means is set to appear before the Senate health committee as she seeks approval to be U.S. surgeon general.
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Casey Means faces the Senate health committee in a confirmation hearing to be US surgeon generalMeans will likely face tough questions about her qualifications and potential conflicts.
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Casey Means faces the Senate health committee in a confirmation hearing to be US surgeon generalWellness influencer and entrepreneur Dr. Casey Means is set to appear before the Senate health committee as she seeks approval to be U.S. surgeon general.
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