WASHINGTON (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a plan Wednesday to use medical data and records from people on Medicaid and Medicare to help study autism although experts say it’s unlikely to help reveal the condition’s root causes.

The partnership will focus first on "enabling research around the root causes" of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), HHS said. Researchers can use the platform to identify autism diagnosis trends, health outcomes from interventions, access to care by demographics and geography, and economic burdens.