Washington D.C. – Ahead of the Senate HELP Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday for Trump Surgeon General Nominee Casey Means, today Protect Our Care and 314 Action spotlighted Means’ lack of a medical license, baseless attacks on traditional medical practices, deep conflicts of interest with the wellness industry, and embrace of an anti-science agenda like calling IVF “needless” – all of which should alarm any Senator who claims to care about our nation’s health.
“Not only is Casey Means deeply conflicted with her grifty wellness business, but she also judges women who use birth control and IVF, which she deems ‘needless’ – all the while, she is not even authorized to practice medicine,” said Kayla Hancock, Director of Public Health Watch, a project of Protect Our Care. “Objectively, Means has no business becoming the nation’s leading public health educator, but Donald Trump has a tendency to promote deeply unqualified people to the highest levels of government to invite chaos and distract from his failed policies. Like RFK Jr., Means is more concerned with preventing children from getting the safe and effective vaccine against hepatitis B than actually contracting the potentially fatal disease.
Added Hancock: “Amid the worst measles outbreak in decades almost exclusively among the unvaccinated, would Means encourage more Americans to get the measles shot — or join many others in the Trump administration in stoking anti-vax fear without evidence as she’s done with hep B? What also remains to be seen is if Means will join RFK Jr. in abandoning her vocal advocacy against harmful pesticides like Roundup now that Donald Trump has ordered mass production of glyphosate to grow profits for his chemical industry megadonors at the expense of the public’s health.”
“Casey Means is nothing but a drop-out turned influencer applying to be America’s doctor—she couldn’t cut it in her residency so she grifted her way to the top. Casey Means is seriously underqualified to be top doc. America needs a Surgeon-General who believes the foundational theories that inform modern medicine, not another unlicensed, anti-vax quack who will side with RFK Jr. over science and push unproven treatments to diseases killing Americans. We urge Senators to raise questions about her anti-science record and reject her nomination while they have the chance,” 314 Action spokesperson Grace Silva said.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT UNQUALIFIED, CONFLICTED TRUMP SURGEON GENERAL NOMINEE CASEY MEANS:
Casey Means Wants To Be Surgeon General – Despite Not Completing Her Medical Residency and Holding An Inactive Medical License. Means is not a board-certified physician and has a very limited background in professional medical practice. Although she has a background in ear, nose, and throat surgery, she dropped out of her residency after medical school. She started a “functional medicine and wellness consulting” practice in 2019, but her business registration lapsed after just two years, and her medical license is currently inactive. She has no practice locations on file in Oregon and is not currently authorized to practice medicine.
Casey Means Has Pushed An Anti-Science Agenda That Threats America’s Public Health. Means is known for her distrust of traditional health care providers. She has pushed back against birth control pills, calling them a “disrespect of life,” opposed “needless” IVF, and questioned the need for infants to be inoculated against hepatitis B. She is also a strong supporter of RFK Jr.’s anti-science, MAHA agenda, opposing bans on raw milk.
Casey Means Is a Biotech Industry Insider With Substantial Wellness Industry Conflicts of Interest. Means is the Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of biotech company Levels Health, which charges customers as much as $1,499 per year for services – some of which can be purchased through tax-free Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts, suggesting that Means’ company directly benefited from the portions of Trump’s budget bill’s expansion of HSA eligibility and heightened contribution limits. The company was most recently valued at $300 million, even though Means has listed her personal stake in the company to be worth no more than $500,000.
Means Failed To Disclose Financial Relationships With Companies In Past Product Promotions. Means has a history of failing to disclose sponsorship relationships in social media posts promoting wellness products. Public Citizen found that she “failed to disclose her relationship 79 out of 140 (56%) times she promoted products from companies with which she has financial relationships.”
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