'Problematic' MAHA report minimizes success of lifesaving asthma medicines, doctors say [View all]

Medical experts are dismayed over a federal report’s claim that kids are overprescribed asthma medications, saying it minimizes how many lives the drugs save.

Safe treatment protocols for asthma management have been carefully studied over the years, said Dr. Perry Sheffield, a pediatrician and professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

“The federal government actually has some really beautiful and clear guidelines and strategies, and things that are vetted by and carefully edited by many experts in the field,” said Sheffield, who co-directs a region of the federally funded Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units that serves New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Asthma affects more than 4.6 million American children, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s one of the most common long-term diseases in U.S. children.

The Make America Healthy Again Commission report released in late May, parts of which have been widely criticized, alleges that American children are on too much medication of various kinds, including asthma treatments.

Experts worry that the administration will set policy based on the assessment, dissuading insurers from covering asthma prescriptions. They also say that the report’s assertions could worsen disparities that affect children’s access to those medications and undermine years of research around the drugs.

https://stateline.org/2025/06/06/problematic-maha-report-minimizes-success-of-lifesaving-asthma-medicines-doctors-say/