Pulse Check: Health Care’s Leadership Moment: Stepping in to Fill the Gap

The health care sector stands at a critical crossroads as President Trump’s second administration implements sweeping changes. With the potential confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the landscape faces further transformation, creating unprecedented challenges for health care stakeholders.

APCO’s latest 2025 Pulse Check survey report, which captures public perception from the presidential transition period, reveals a nuanced picture of public trust in health care institutions and information sources. The findings highlight a compelling paradox: while Americans maintain strong confidence in health care products and medical professionals, trust in institutions and information sources has become increasingly fragmented along partisan lines.

Our findings provide context for understanding public perceptions of recent executive orders related to health care as well as Kennedy’s potential confirmation, and their potential implications for the health care sector.

Federal Health Agency Restrictions

President Trump’s limitations on health agencies’ communication and funding come at a time when trust in government health agencies is already low, with only 31% of Americans trusting these agencies to deliver accurate health information. Against this backdrop of institutional skepticism, a plurality of Americans (37%) perceive a shared responsibility across health care entities, government, news and social media to address health misinformation.

Companies should consider building cross-sector coalitions to combat health misinformation. There is an opportunity to establish new frameworks for trusted health information delivery while leveraging medical professionals’ strong credibility.

Kennedy’s Vaccine Skepticism

Kennedy has long questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccines, often citing concerns about potential side effects and the adequacy of clinical trials. Kennedy’s continued vocalization of mistrust toward vaccines occurs amid stark partisan divisions in vaccine trust: 73% of Democrats trust vaccines, compared to 56% of Independents and 55% of Republicans.

Now more than ever, it is critical for all companies to understand the nuances across their audiences in order to build effective messaging and identify the right messengers for politically aware communication strategies. In this moment, companies should lean on best practices for communicating health information: clear, concise and simple.

WHO Withdrawal & Global Health Policy

While President Trump is pursuing increasingly isolationist global health policies, 75% of Americans support continued U.S. involvement in international health challenges, with strong bipartisan backing.

As companies may be reconsidering their global public health strategies, when these efforts are aligned with a company’s business, purpose and values, there is justification and pathway to continue this work.

Looking ahead, the challenge is not merely about adapting to new policies but also building trust in a fractured and polarized information ecosystem. Companies, non-governmental organizations, and state and local governments may need to step in to fill the gaps left by changes in federal government priorities.