WTAS: HHS Launches MAHA Action Plan to Curb Psychiatric Overprescribing

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on May 4, 2026, announced efforts to curb psychiatric overprescribing at a MAHA Institute summit on mental health and overmedicalization. As the closing speaker, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. laid out a new action plan to promote appropriate psychiatric prescribing and drive deprescribing when clinically indicated.

“Today, we take clear and decisive action to confront our nation’s mental health crisis by addressing the overuse of psychiatric medications—especially among children,” said Secretary Kennedy. “We will support patient autonomy, require informed consent and shared decision-making, and shift the standard of care toward prevention, transparency, and a more holistic approach to mental health.”

Headlines
Medical Professionals
Advocates & Organizations
Influencers & Members of the Media

Headlines:

• The New York Times: Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants
• The Wall Street Journal: RFK Jr. Wants to Wean Some Americans Off Antidepressants
• POLITICO: HHS targets ‘overmedication’
• CNN: RFK Jr. launches plan to address ‘overuse’ of psychiatric medications
• Fox News: RFK Jr. unveils initiative targeting 'overuse' of psychiatric medications, especially among children
• NBC News: [CLIP ]RFK Jr. launches plan to limit antidepressant prescriptions
• NewsNation: RFK Jr. unveils campaign for ‘deprescribing’ antidepressants
• Washington Examiner: Trump admin HHS moves to curb ‘overmedicalization’ on antidepressants
• Bloomberg Law: Kennedy Unveils Plan to Reduce Psychiatric Drug Prescriptions
• NOTUS: RFK Jr. Unveils His Plan to Reduce Americans’ Reliance on Antidepressants
• Newsmax: RFK Jr. Pushes Federal Review of Antidepressants
• The Federalist: RFK Launches Plan To Stop Predatory Overprescribing Of Psych Drugs
• The Guardian: US to take steps to curb antidepressant prescribing, RFK Jr says
• The Independent: RFK Jr targets Zoloft and Prozac in latest MAHA push to kick America’s drug habit
• The Boston Globe: Kennedy starts a push to help Americans quit antidepressants
• The Post Millennial: RFK Jr takes on big pharma with campaign to 'de-prescribe' Medicare patients from SSRIs
• STAT: HHS tackles ‘overmedication’
• The Hill: RFK Jr. unveils campaign for ‘deprescribing’ antidepressants
• MedPage Today: RFK Jr. Launches Effort to Encourage Antidepressant Deprescribing
• The Hallucination Herald: Kennedy Launches Federal Campaign to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants
• Floridian Press: RFK Jr. Announces Plan To Lower Psychiatric Medication Overuse
• Psychiatric Times: HHS Launches Action Plan to Promote “Appropriate Psychiatric Prescribing”
• Epoch Times: RFK Jr. Announces New Plan to Tackle ‘Overmedicalization’ of Psychiatric Care
• Gateway Pundit: RFK Jr. Launches His Latest MAHA Project — Getting Americans Off Antidepressants
• Political Wire: Kennedy Tries to Get Americans Off Antidepressants
• The MAHA Report: Kennedy Announces Historic Shift in U.S. Mental Healthcare Treatment

Medical Professionals:

• Tapering Clinic Founder, board-certified psychiatrist, and former FDA Medical Officer, Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring, M.D., via X: “Deprescribing is finally getting the attention it deserves, proud to have helped move this forward!”
• Velocity Health Founder, CEO, and physician, Sandeep Palakodeti, M.D., MPH, via X:  “Wow this is actually huge. Billing codes to have real discussions with people about getting them off the poison they’ve been stuck on for years.”
• Montefiore Medical Center Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Marty Silverman, via CNN: “As with all areas of medicine, we should be concerned about both overprescribing and underprescribing…So too with psychiatric medications such as antidepressants or antipsychotics.”
• Dr. Vibeke Manniche, M.D., Ph.D., author, scientist, and lecturer via X: “A need for non-[pharmacologic] treatment - also when it comes diagnosis as ADHD - where the overmedication is immense and worrying. The world - not only US - needs that kind of leadership as @SecKennedy is providing”
• Dr. Julian Somers, clinical psychologist and distinguished professor, via X: “As a clinical psychologist I’ve worked with people throughout my career who want to reduce or stop their medications. North America’s decades-long collective fascination with meds is now driving an overdue set of reforms ranging from de-prescribing to prevention.”
• Nicolas Badre, forensic, clinical, and psychotherapy psychologist, via X: “Yesterday, HHS released a Dear Colleague letter on psychotropic medications. Contrary to what many may say. It is reasonable. “Psychiatric medications can play an important and, at times, essential role.” It recommends reasonable things: treatment plans should consider “evidence-based non-pharmacological interventions [including] psychotherapy, social connection, behavioral approaches, sleep-focused treatments, physical activity interventions, and dietary and nutrition-related strategies.” At the initiation of meds, appropriate informed consent on “the purpose of the medication, expected benefits, possible adverse effects, monitoring needs, potential discontinuation symptoms, the risks of abrupt cessation when relevant, the possibility of relapse or recurrence, and the availability of evidence-based non-pharmacological interventions.” After meds are started, “regular and deliberate review of psychiatric medication regimens to ensure that each medication remains necessary.” I know that some of my colleagues are concerned, but this letter seems reasonable, common sense, and non-alarmist to me. We have ramped up psychotropic meds for decades and overshot; HHS is appropriately responding.”
• Allen Frances, M.D., Former Chair of the Duke University Department of Psychiatry and author, via X: “Miracle of miracles: RFK Jr finally gets something right. Announces new federal effort to reduce ridiculous 16% rate of antidepressant use in US. We need guidelines to stop  careless prescribing/encourage careful deprescribing. Great news/great piece.”
• Dr. Joanna Moncrieff, critical psychiatrist, author, and researcher via X: “I don't agree with all RFK Jr's views, but am grateful that he is calling attention to the enormous problem of overmedicalisation and epidemic levels of use of psychiatric drugs.”
• Javeed Sukhera M.D., Ph.D., physician and psychiatrist via X: “As a psychiatrist, I see it every day, too many Americans are overmedicated and undertreated. Medication has a role, but suffering carries meaning. We need space to understand it, not to medicate it without deeper engagement in what is actually going on.”
• Om Prakash, M.D., psychiatrist, geriatric and ECT specialist via X: “Deprescribing has its place and psychiatrists use it when needed. Paying for it makes sense where overprescribing is the problem…”

Advocates & Organizations:

• Inner Compass Founder, author, and former psychiatric patient, Laura Delano, via The New York Times: “We are now waking up to the false promises of this industry called mental health…Time has run out on this deceptive mythology. Our culture sees through it now. A couple of years ago, I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined that we would reach this tipping point.”
• MAHA Action via X: “RFK Jr. says America is facing an overmedicalization crisis. “The United States does not just face a mental health crisis, we face a dependency crisis driven by overmedicalization…1 in 6 American adults takes an antidepressant…1 in 10 children are on prescription medication for their mental health…”
• American Psychiatric Association via press release: “APA welcomes the attention placed squarely on the nation’s mental health crisis and is committed to advancing solutions that improve access to high-quality evidence-based care. We are supportive of the Administration’s plans for further investment in research and clinician training on the issues of prescribing and deprescribing.”
• American Psychiatric Association Chief Executive and Medical Director, Dr. Marketa Wills, via The New York Times: “There is probably overprescribing and underprescribing in all parts of medicine, and mental health care is no different…The bottom line is, we believe clinical care is safe and should be individualized for all patients, and we believe the secretary is taking steps that are beneficial for the field.”
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, via press release: “Appropriate discontinuing of medications can play a role in high-quality care when guided by careful, individualized clinical assessment—such as when medications are ineffective, cause concerning side effects, or involve unnecessary use of multiple medications.”
• Maxwell Sciences CEO, Scotch McClure, via X: “Very impressive. I didn’t realize doctors did not get paid for de-prescribing. No wonder we’re in such a mess.”
• Abundance Institute Digital Director and Policy Advisor, Shoshana Weissmann, via X: “This is really important and I'm so glad to see it!!!”
• WJW Mental Health Legal Fund via X: “This is in our mission narrative since a 2013 treatment team meeting at Tulsa Ctr for Behavioral Health (TCBH) where Jeff was inpatient for the umpteenth time and mom told them these are dependent drugs but the treatment team said ‘no they’re not’ Thank you #CMS #HHS #RFKjr”

Influencers & Members of the Media:

• Ellen Barry, reporter for The New York Times, via NBC News: “I think there’s lots of good evidence that other mechanisms, things like sleep and exercise and nutrition, but especially psychotherapy, are really effective treatments for depression and anxiety and other disorders.”
• Psychiatric Times Board Member, H. Steven Moffic, M.D., via the Psychiatric Times: “The best psychiatric care comes from an adequately funding for the comprehensive toolkit of our knowledge and skills as our model of biological, psychological, and social variables all together indicate…Unfortunately, the decades of growing influence of for-profit business has put limits on what psychiatrists can do, causing a decrease in quality of care, and also an epidemic rate of burnout. On the other hand, psychiatry has also been lax in monitoring outcomes and passive in presenting our concerns. We need a national task force of experts to address this challenge.”
• Angel Russell, One America News correspondent via One America News Network [CLIP]: “The Department of Health and Human Services is rolling out a sweeping new plan to curb what officials say is widespread overprescribing of psychiatric medications, with a major focus on children and a shift toward holistic care. Announced Monday at a mental health summit in Washington, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior unveiled what's being called the MAHA Action Plan, aimed at reining in what he describes as overmedicalization across the country. The plan calls for stronger informed consent, more shared decision-making and a push towards non-drug options like therapy, nutrition and family support. Critics argue big pharma has long had a financial incentive to keep prescriptions flowing, even when questions about safety remain.”
• Maryanne Demasi, Ph.D. (@MaryanneDemasi), investigative journalist and researcher, via X: “Deprescribing psychiatric drugs put on U.S. agenda to limit overuse
• @SecKennedy brings long-term use, withdrawal, and tapering into focus after years of patient reports & clinical concern around psychiatric meds…”
• Peterson Academy Founder, Mikhaila Peterson (@MikhailaFuller) via X: “[Secretary Kennedy’s] on a roll.”.
• Martin Varsavsky (@martinvars) via X: “Paying doctors to deprescribe is paying for judgment, not volume. This is exactly how primary care should move: fewer unnecessary pills, more accountability, better outcomes.”
• The Washington Times Unleashed (@TWT_UNLEASHED) via X: “RFK Jr. Launches Plan to Help Americans Taper Off Antidepressants. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a federal initiative on Monday to reduce reliance on SSRI antidepressants and help patients safely discontinue use. He unveiled the plan at a Make America Healthy Again Institute event in Washington, where he described a family member's withdrawal experience and compared SSRI discontinuation to his own past heroin recovery. The plan includes new Medicare and Medicaid payments for clinicians who help patients taper off psychiatric medications, federal training modules on prescribing risks, and expert-drafted deprescribing guidelines.SSRIs such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Lexapro are taken by roughly 1 in 6 US adults. "We will no longer treat psychiatric medications as the default," Kennedy said, adding that the government is not telling patients to stop their prescriptions. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is expected to host webinars for prescribers in June and July, and HHS will convene an expert panel in July to inform clinical guidance on tapering…”
• Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) via X: “RFK Jr. wants to help Americans get off antidepressants. The medical establishment is already furious. But 1 in 8 Americans is on these drugs long-term, and most were never given an exit plan by their doctors. Maybe the outrage says more about the system than the proposal.”
• Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil) via X: “We actually do need a lot of deprescribing, especially for old people, among whom polypharmacy is a big problem. In fact, 40% of elderly people taking 5-9 medications, with 18% taking 10+, and 1-in-5 are on Beers List medications (i.e., medications inappropriate for old people).”