Warren, Democrats demand answers from Dr. Oz about Medicare privatization

Leading Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from Dr. Mehmet Oz on his previous support for eliminating traditional Medicare in favor of private Medicare Advantage plans. 

Led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the lawmakers sent 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 television personality and former GOP Senate candidate to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It offers a preview of the questions Oz is likely to face next year from Democrats when he appears before a Senate committee for his confirmation hearing. 

CMS oversees coverage for more than 155 million Americans, nearly half the population. Medicare accounts for approximately $1 trillion in annual spending, with more 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 were referring to a 2020 opinion piece Oz authored in which he called for “Medicare Advantage for All,” effectively putting all Americans without Medicaid into private Medicare Advantage plans. 

The lawmakers cited an analysis from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission that found Medicare Advantage plans will overcharge the government $83 billion relative to traditional Medicare in 2024 alone. 

In the op-ed, Oz called Medicare “highly dysfunctional.”  

Oz softened his stance somewhat when he unsuccessfully ran for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, calling for an expansion of Medicare Advantage plans rather than total replacement of Medicare. 

The Democrats said they were especially concerned about Oz’s potential conflicts of interest. Oz reported owning more than $550,000 in UnitedHealth stock in his 2022 financial disclosures. UnitedHealth is the largest private insurer under Medicare Advantage and largest employer of physicians in the nation. 

"The company is currently under a sprawling antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice — including for its role in aggressively upcoding Medicare Advantage enrollees to secure higher payments from CMS — and has been sued on multiple occasions for Medicare fraud. Under your plan, UnitedHealth’s revenue from Medicare Advantage would roughly double to $274 billion annually,” the Democrats wrote. 

“Given your financial ties to private insurers, combined with your view that the traditional Medicare program is ‘highly dysfunctional’ and your advocacy for eliminating it entirely, it is not clear that you are qualified for this critical job.“ 

The letter was co-signed by Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden (Ore.), Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas). Wyden is set to be the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which will hold the confirmation hearing for Oz next year.  

Republicans hold a 53-47 seat advantage in the Senate and will need 50 votes to confirm Oz as a nominee, meaning they can lose up to three Republicans if all Democrats vote against him.  

Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed last week in a crime that captured the national spotlight and unleashed a torrent of populist anger against the U.S. health system, and insurance companies specifically.    

The Democrats asked Oz a series of questions and demanded answers before the end of December, including whether he’ll “still continue to support policies that would eliminate Traditional Medicare” if confirmed.  

They also asked how he can "reconcile your support for turning Medicare over to private insurers with findings from federal watchdogs and whistleblowers indicating that these private companies overcharge taxpayers and unlawfully deny care.”