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John,
With only days left until his inauguration, Donald Trump continues his streak of nominating unqualified extremists to critical cabinet positions. Another recent one is Mehmet Oz―better known as a television personality―to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Dr. Oz came to national prominence due to frequent appearances on Oprah Winfrey’s former talk show. He then went on to have a daytime TV show of his own where he peddled dangerous pseudoscience and promoted misinformation.
This nomination comes at a time when millions could lose health care coverage as policymakers consider proposals that would force deep cuts to Medicaid.1
We cannot allow someone so unqualified to run a department that oversees Medicare and Medicaid, two insurance programs relied on by about 150 million people to receive their health care. Join us in calling on the Senate to reject the nomination of Dr. Oz as CMS administrator today.
SEND A MESSAGE TODAY
Dr. Oz is a cardiothoracic surgeon who was once the vice chair of the surgery department at Columbia University's medical school. His dubious medical claims were so egregious that in 2015, more than 10 doctors from prestigious institutions wrote a letter to Columbia University’s Dean of Medicine urging the university to cut ties with Dr. Oz.2
In 2018, Dr. Oz and the production company of his television show agreed to a $5.25 million settlement to end a class-action lawsuit over Oz’s endorsement of weight-loss supplements he claimed were “revolutionary fat busters,” and “a magic weight-loss cure.” Plaintiffs allege that although Dr. Oz frequently claims that he doesn’t try to sell products he promotes to his audience, settlement documents allege that he was being paid to promote the supplements by the manufacturer.3
Columbia University finally cut ties with Dr. Oz in 2022.4
In 2014, Dr. Oz was called to testify in front of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance about the false advertising in the diet and weight-loss industry, where he was confronted about his own history of using “flowery language to express his enthusiasm for promising new supplements.”5 By his own admission during the hearing, Dr. Oz said:6
“I actually do personally believe in the items I talk about on the show. I recognize that oftentimes they don’t have the scientific muster to pass as fact. I have given my family these products.”
Dr. Oz has admitted to endorsing quack medicine that doesn’t pass scientific standards. We’re facing a new Congress and administration that could take health care away from millions, including deep cuts to Medicaid. These proposed changes could shift costs to states plus make health expenses rise for many of us. We need someone heading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who will strengthen these programs and reduce health costs, not someone who has a financial incentive to privatize them. Dr. Oz embodies the damage policymakers could cause to vulnerable people who rely on Medicare and Medicaid, unlike anything we have seen before.
Send a direct message to the Senate today and urge them to speak out publicly about the importance of protecting Medicare and Medicaid―and reject Dr. Oz’s nomination to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Thank you for all you do,
Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, CHN Action
1 Medicaid May Face Big Cuts and Work Requirements
2 A group of doctors just asked Columbia to reconsider Dr. Oz’s faculty appointment
3 $5.25 Million Settlement Reached in Dr. Oz-Promoted “Miracle” Diet Supplement
4 Trump picks former medical school professor Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
5‘The Scientific Community Is Almost Monolithic Against You’: When Dr. Oz Went to the Senate
6 The 'Dr. Oz Effect': Senators Scold Mehmet Oz For Diet Scams
-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --
John,
A peddler of dubious weight-loss supplements, a promoter of the drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID, and an inconsistent record on vaccinations. These are all descriptors of Dr. Mehmet Oz, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at a time when these programs face serious threats and millions are struggling with high health costs.1
Prior to running for U.S. Senate in 2022, Dr. Oz pushed a plan that would take everyone in Medicare who is not also on Medicaid and put them into a Medicare Advantage plan, which would completely privatize Medicare―handing the health care of millions of retirees over to greedy insurance companies.2
Project 2025 calls for making Medicare Advantage the default enrollment option for older Americans, which would push the U.S. towards a fully privatized Medicare system. This would give away billions of tax dollars to corporations whose M.O. is to profit by denying care, while giving seniors limited options when it comes to choosing providers.3 You know who benefits from making privatized Medicare Advantage the default option for Medicare? Dr. Oz.
From New York Magazine:4
“During his failed bid for a Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2022, the former heart surgeon turned TV host touted his vision of ‘Medicare Advantage for All,’ inviting scrutiny into his financial disclosures, which showed that he owned $600,000 worth of stock in two of the largest Medicare Advantage providers (UnitedHealth Group and CVS/Aetna), not to mention about $8 million in other investments across the health-care sector.”
The financial investments that Dr. Oz has in the health care industry must be scrutinized. Financial disclosures from his 2022 Senate run show that Oz and his wife owned shares in Johnson & Johnson, Thermo Fisher Scientific (supplier of hydroxychloroquine), and Prelude—a network of fertility clinics.
Dr. Oz was an early investor in MitraClip, a device that was touted as an alternative to open-heart surgery. After it was acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2009 and approved in 2013, the device was recalled three times and the Food and Drug Administration received more than 17,000 reports about malfunctions and it was potentially linked to 1,100 deaths.5
In the case of United States of America, et al.; vs. Abbott Laboratories, et al., Defendants, a former Abbott employee alleges that Abbott promoted the device to doctors and hospitals in exchange for “patient referrals, patient practice building, free patient marketing service, honoraria for sham speaker programs, rewards in the form of clinical trial opportunities, marketing events and consulting services, free lavish meals, and cocktail parties.” The employee alleges that it was part of a larger scheme that defrauded health insurance programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.6
Financial disclosures from his Senate run show that Dr. Oz received hundreds of thousands of dollars in MitraClip royalties from Abbott Laboratories.7
This nomination comes at a time that millions could lose health coverage as policymakers consider proposals that would force deep cuts to health programs.8 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid determine which health care devices are covered under Medicare.9 Due to his vast investments in the health care sector, it’s clear that Dr. Oz would have multiple conflicts of interests as head of CMS.
A 2022 survey found 4 in 10 Medicare enrollees reported problems accessing care because of costs—Medicare Advantage enrollees of all incomes have the hardest time.10 The study also found that, regardless of their Medicare plan, older adults reported skipping follow-up appointments and skipping prescription refills due to inability to pay.
Anthony Wright, Executive Director of Families USA, a CHN coalition partner, said:
“The financial ties need to be investigated fully. We want to make sure that when those negotiations on drug prices happen, that pharma is not on both sides of the negotiating table.”
Nominating someone with Dr. Oz’s background and conflicts of interests to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which would give him control over a more than $1 trillion budget and influence over drug price negotiation and medication coverage decisions, would put the most vulnerable in our society at great risk.
Join us in calling on the Senate to reject the nomination of Dr. Oz as the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and speak out about protecting these important programs.
Thank you for all you do,
Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action
1 Dr. Oz, Tapped to Run Medicare, Has a Record of Promoting Health Misinformation
2 Mehmet Oz once proposed massive changes to Medicare. Now he could run it.
3 Project 2025’s Medicare Changes Would Restrict Older Americans’ Access to Care and Imperil the Program’s Financial Health
4 Dr. Oz Shilled for an Alternative to Medicare: Trump’s pick to oversee the program is a hype man for private-sector competition.
5 From Dr. Oz to Heart Valves: A Tiny Device Charted a Contentious Path Through the FDA
6 United States v. Abbott Labs.
7 Oz-Financial-Disclosure-Royalties
8 Medicaid May Face Big Cuts and Work Requirements
9 Medicare Coverage of Items and Services
10 Medicare’s Affordability Problem: A Look at the Cost Burdens Faced by Older Enrollees
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