Experts have suggested that past presidents have concealed important health information from the public. For example, Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimer’s disease may have affected his speech and judgment during his second term before his diagnosis was made public. Other presidents like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Lyndon B. Johnson, and John F. Kennedy also withheld health conditions from the public eye.
It is essential for presidential candidates to disclose key health information to the public. Age is not the only factor in determining a candidate’s ability to serve as president, as many individuals can function well into their later years. Former President Jimmy Carter established a working group on presidential disabilities in 1994, proposing that a non-partisan panel perform medical evaluations on candidates.
Arthur Caplan, head of bioethics at New York University, emphasizes the importance of independent medical assessments for candidates. Personal physicians may withhold information that a president or candidate wishes to keep confidential. Caplan suggests that a panel appointed by the National Academy of Medicine and Science could perform evaluations to ensure transparency in the health status of candidates. For example, President Trump’s unconventional health note in 2016 raised concerns about the accuracy and reliability of personal physician reports.