Washington Mehmet Oz is being questioned by prominent Democratic senators on his “previous advocacy for Medicare privatization,” which refers to his 2020 proposal to enroll all seniors in private insurance plans under Medicare Advantage.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., led a letter on Tuesday asking the doctor and television personality known as “Dr. Oz” for clarification after President-elect Donald Trump appointed him to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
“In the wake of that nomination, we write regarding our concerns about your advocacy for the elimination of Traditional Medicare and your deep financial ties to private health insurers,” the letter, which NBC News first received, said.
Five other members of Congress, including Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who is expected to take over as ranking member of the Finance Committee, co-signed the letter.
Warren and other members of the Finance Committee, which is in charge of the CMS nominee, will get the opportunity to interview Oz. The letter is a sneak peek of what Oz will encounter—at least from Democrats—during the confirmation process. Democrats couldn’t sabotage the selection unless they convinced at least four Republicans to vote against him, as Republicans will command a 53-47 seat advantage and require 50 senators to confirm a candidate.
The Democrats cited an opinion piece that Oz co-wrote in 2020 advocating for enrolling all Americans in Medicare Advantage, so displacing the conventional Medicare program, which places Americans 65 and older under direct government insurance in conjunction with commercial insurance plans.
Citing research from the impartial Medicare Payment Advisory Committee, the senators said, “In fact, private insurers that administer the Medicare Advantage program significantly overcharge for care.”
When Oz campaigned unsuccessfully for the Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, he adopted a more moderate platform that did not advocate for the elimination of traditional Medicare, although he did continue to favor expanding Medicare Advantage. In an AARP survey, he wrote, “We can expand Medicare Advantage plans.” He described the plans as “popular among seniors” and claimed that they “provide quality care” with the appropriate cost incentives.
The letter’s lawmakers sounded doubtful.
“Your advocacy for eliminating the Traditional Medicare program and replacing it with Medicare Advantage also raises questions about your own financial conflicts of interest,” the Democrats stated in their letter. “In your financial disclosures from your 2022 Senate run, you reported owning over $550,000 ofstock in UnitedHealth, the largest private insurer in Medicare Advantage and largest employer of physicians in the nation.”
“The corporation has been sued on several occasions for Medicare fraud and is currently the subject of a broad antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice, which includes its participation in aggressively upcoding Medicare Advantage members to obtain larger payments from CMS. UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage revenue would almost treble to $274 billion a year under your plan.
Last week, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a shooting that made headlines across the country.
Among the concerns posed by the Democratic senators to Oz were whether he would “commit to opposing any and all efforts to privatize or cut Medicare” and if, if elected CMS chief, he would “continue to support policies that would eliminate Traditional Medicare.”
They additionally requested that he “commit to fully divesting of any and all financial holdings related to the insurance industry if you are confirmed as Administrator.”
A request for comment from Trump’s transition staff was not immediately answered.
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