Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. unveiled eight new members of the government's top vaccine committee, including multiple names who have shared skepticism towards and in some cases, misinformation surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. Here's what this means for Americans as Yahoo Finance senior reporter Jordan Weisman. So, Jordan, let's start broad here. What is this committee and what does it do?

So this is what's known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This is basically the most important panel of experts when it comes to US vaccine policy. Their job is to advise the Centers on Disease and Disease Control on what shots you should just add to their uh, you know, routine vaccine schedules. What shots, you know, adults and children should just, you know, be should get. Um this affects things like what what uh vaccines school districts require for young kids. Um but also importantly for I think, you know, people's wallets, it determines what insurers have to cover. Um under the Affordable Care Act, for instance, um, you know, private insurers are required to cover free of charge uh vaccines that are recommended by this committee. So this, you know, kind of, you know, decision by Kennedy to fire everyone on the panel and then replace them with some noted vaccine skeptics could have both vast public health consequences, but also some financial consequences for viewers.

Right. Well, let's talk about those financial consequences. Could this result in Americans paying more out of pocket? And if so, how?

Yeah, absolutely. So as I was saying, this this panel when it recommends a vaccine, um private insurance essentially has to cover it. So does Medicare Part D, so does Medicaid, so does CHIP. Um essentially when they say a kid should get this shot, should get a measles shot, uh should get a COVID shot, uh that becomes free to the parents, right? Uh if they resend any of those recommendations, which it looks like they could potentially do, it means suddenly insurers will have to decide uh private insurance specifically will have to decide, are they going to continue covering the cost of those vaccines, or are they going to start charging copays? Or are they just not going to cover them at all? So in the cases of some vaccines where they might charge, you know, 10 or they might cost $10 or so out of pocket, it's maybe not a huge deal. But there are some shots like say, you know, Gardasil, the HPV vaccine that can cost upwards of $300 a shot. So it could actually, you know, put a hit on some patients.

Jordan, important information to know. Thank you so much.