Main Democratic lawmakers are demanding solutions from Dr. Mehmet Oz on his earlier help for eliminating conventional Medicare in favor of personal Medicare Benefit plans.
Led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the lawmakers despatched a letter to Oz on Tuesday “regarding our concerns about your advocacy for the elimination of Traditional Medicare and your deep financial ties to private health insurers.”
The letter comes after President-elect Trump picked the tv character and former GOP Senate candidate to run the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Companies (CMS). It presents a preview of the questions Oz is prone to face subsequent yr from Democrats when he seems earlier than a Senate committee for his affirmation listening to.
CMS oversees protection for greater than 155 million People, almost half the inhabitants. Medicare accounts for roughly $1 trillion in annual spending, with greater than 67 million enrollees.
“We have questions about your lack of qualifications for this job: although you were a renowned heart surgeon, you have no management experience relevant to running these critical health care programs. But we are equally concerned about your previous advocacy for Medicare privatization,” they wrote.
Democrats had been referring to a 2020 opinion piece Oz authored during which he referred to as for “Medicare Advantage for All,” successfully placing all People with out Medicaid into personal Medicare Benefit plans.
The lawmakers cited an evaluation from the Medicare Cost Advisory Fee that discovered Medicare Benefit plans will overcharge the federal government $83 billion relative to conventional Medicare in 2024 alone.
Within the op-ed, Oz referred to as Medicare “highly dysfunctional.”
Oz softened his stance considerably when he unsuccessfully ran for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, calling for an enlargement of Medicare Benefit plans quite than complete alternative of Medicare.
The Democrats mentioned they had been particularly involved about Oz’s potential conflicts of curiosity. Oz reported proudly owning greater than $550,000 in UnitedHealth inventory in his 2022 monetary disclosures. UnitedHealth is the most important personal insurer beneath Medicare Benefit and largest employer of physicians within the nation.
“The corporate is at the moment beneath a sprawling antitrust investigation by the Division of Justice — together with for its function in aggressively upcoding Medicare Benefit enrollees to safe larger funds from CMS — and has been sued on a number of events for Medicare fraud. Underneath your plan, UnitedHealth’s income from Medicare Benefit would roughly double to $274 billion yearly,” the Democrats wrote.
“Given your monetary ties to non-public insurers, mixed together with your view that the normal Medicare program is ‘highly dysfunctional’ and your advocacy for eliminating it fully, it’s not clear that you’re certified for this crucial job.“
The letter was co-signed by Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden (Ore.), Dick Durbin (In poor health.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas). Wyden is about to be the rating member of the Senate Finance Committee, which can maintain the affirmation listening to for Oz subsequent yr.
Republicans maintain a 53-47 seat benefit within the Senate and can want 50 votes to verify Oz as a nominee, that means they’ll lose as much as three Republicans if all Democrats vote towards him.
Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed final week in against the law that captured the nationwide highlight and unleashed a torrent of populist anger towards the U.S. well being system, and insurance coverage firms particularly.
The Democrats requested Oz a sequence of questions and demanded solutions earlier than the top of December, together with whether or not he’ll “still continue to support policies that would eliminate Traditional Medicare” if confirmed.
In addition they requested how he can “reconcile your help for turning Medicare over to non-public insurers with findings from federal watchdogs and whistleblowers indicating that these personal firms overcharge taxpayers and unlawfully deny care.”
