Health adviser Calley Means leaves White House role, NYT reports

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(Reuters) -Calley Means, a health adviser to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has left his role at the White House, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

Means worked in the Trump administration as a special government employee and was a close aide to Kennedy, particularly active in the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

For much of the past six months, he played a key role in shaping health policy and supporting Kennedy’s efforts to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, the report said.

He helped coordinate a presidential commission report on children’s health and was a frequent critic of hospitals, insurers and pharmaceutical companies, the Times added.

Means stepped down about a month ago after completing his term, which began in March and was limited to 130 days under federal rules, according to the report.

Government ethics watchdog Public Citizen said Means was among a dozen individuals placed in high-level roles despite “potentially significant conflict of interests and financial ethical conflicts.”

Means told the Times that recent reports describing him as still employed were inaccurate and that a speaker biography listing him as a current adviser was outdated.

The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

His sister, Dr. Casey Means, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next U.S. surgeon general, the report added.

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)