Final Draft MAHA Report Leaked

A draft of the final Make American Healthy Again Commission Report has been leaked to the press. The report calls for the creation of a multi-agency working group to review whether mental health drugs, including commonly prescribed antidepressants, antipsychotics and stimulants, are overprescribed to children, and whether nutritional and other alternative interventions should be promoted.

The draft report says that the Department of Health and Human Services will launch the working group, to include the Administration for Children and Families, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration and CMS. This group will assess diagnostic thresholds, weigh the risks and benefits of current prescribing patterns, and develop scalable, evidence-based solutions such as school-based programs, nutrition initiatives, and expanded foster care services.

The report is based on the Make Our Children Health Again Assessment and identifies four potential drivers behind the rise in childhood chronic disease, that the Commission identifies as the clearest opportunities for progress, including poor diet, chemical exposure, lack of physical activity and chronic stress, and overmedicalization. The report outlines an approach for executive actions to address the childhood chronic disease crisis through advancing research, realigning incentives, increasing public awareness, and fostering private sector collaborations.