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Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong>Read more<\/p>\n Calley Means has built a following within the \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d movement by railing against the failings of the U.S. health system, often pinning the blame on one issue: corruption.<\/p>\n Means, a top aide to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was hired as a White House<\/a> adviser in March. He has used that perch to attack the nation\u2019s leading physician groups, federal agencies and government scientists, claiming they only protect their own interests in the nation\u2019s $4.9 trillion-a-year industry.<\/p>\n In recent interviews, speeches and podcasts he has called the American Medical Association<\/a> \u201ca pharma lobbying group,\u201d labeled the Food and Drug Administration \u201ca sock puppet of industry,” and said federal health scientists have \u201coverseen a record of utter failure.\u201d<\/p>\n Means, however, has his own financial stake in the sprawling health system. He\u2019s the co-founder of an online platform, Truemed, that offers dietary supplements, herbal remedies and other wellness products. Some of the vendors featured on Truemed\u2019s website are supporters of Kennedy\u2019s MAHA movement, which downplays the benefits of prescription drugs, vaccines and other rigorously tested medical products. <\/p>\n Kennedy has pledged to run the Department of Health and Human Services with \u201cradical transparency,\u201d but Means has never had to publicly disclose his own financial details or where exactly they intersect with the policies he’s advancing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt reeks of hypocrisy,\u201d said Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, a health researcher at Yale University. \u201cIn effect, he is representing another industry that is touting nonregulated products and using his platform within the government to financially benefit himself.\u201d<\/p>\n In a written statement, Means said his government work has not dealt with matters affecting Truemed and has focused on issues like reforming nutrition programs and pressuring companies to phase out food dyes.<\/p>\n \u201cPursuing these large-scale MAHA goals to make America healthy has been the sole focus in my government work,\u201d Means said.<\/p>\n Truemed helps users take tax-free money out of their health savings accounts, or HSAs, to spend on things that wouldn\u2019t normally qualify as medical expenses, such as exercise equipment, meal delivery services and homeopathic remedies \u2014 mixtures of plants and minerals based on a centuries-old theory of medicine that’s not supported by modern science. <\/p>\n The business model caught the attention of the IRS last year, which issued an alert: \u201cBeware of companies misrepresenting nutrition, wellness and general health expenses as medical care.\u201d<\/p>\n Truemed co-founder and CEO, Justin Mares, said in a statement the company is \u201cin full alignment\u201d with IRS guidelines.<\/p>\n \u201cTruemed enables patients to work with providers to use medical funds for root cause interventions like exercise and vitamin D to reverse disease under current law,\u201d Mares said.<\/p>\n The full extent of Means\u2019 potential conflicts \u2014 including his personal investments\u2014 are unclear because of his status as a special government employee.<\/p>\n Unlike presidential appointees and other senior officials, special government employees are temporary staffers who do not have to leave companies or sell investments that could be impacted by their work. Also, their financial disclosure forms are shielded from public release.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a big problem,\u201d says Richard Painter<\/a>, a former White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush now at the University of Minnesota. Painter and other experts have raised alarms over a whirlwind of Trump administration actions to dismantle the government\u2019s public integrity guardrails.<\/p>\n Still, part-time government employees are subject to the same law that bars all federal staffers from working on issues that could directly benefit their finances. When such cases arise, they must recuse themselves or risk criminal penalties.<\/p>\n Means regularly opines on matters before HHS, including rethinking the use of drugs for depression, weight loss, diabetes and other conditions. Recently he’s been promoting a new government report that calls for scaling back prescription medications in favor of exercise, dietary changes and other alternatives.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we rely less on our medical system, less on drugs, it necessitates the spiritual, cultural conversation about what we\u2019re doing to our children\u2019s bodies,\u201d Means said in a recent podcast appearance.<\/p>\n