Dr. Oz’s Dangerous Proposal to Expand Privatized Medicare Would Harm More Patients
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trump’s pick for Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Dr. Mehmet Oz, has said he wants to expand Medicare Part C – also known as Medicare Advantage – to nearly all Americans, but a new Public Citizen brief details how further privatizing Medicare would waste more taxpayer dollars and boost corporate profits while patients would continue struggling to get the health care they need. The brief also flags how Oz’s significant investments in health insurance companies line up with his call for privatized Medicare.
Public Citizen Health Care Advocate Eagan Kemp issued the following statement:
“Healthcare is a right, not a commodity,” said Kemp. “Oz’s proposal is dangerous to all patients, especially seniors and people with disabilities, many of whom have not received the care they need under Medicare Advantage. Oz’s deep ties to the private healthcare industry make his nomination to lead our nation’s current healthcare system totally egregious. Congress should reject Oz’s nomination and any proposal to further privatize Medicare. Instead policymakers should pass Medicare for All to guarantee care for everyone in the U.S., bring down costs for working families and generate savings for the country as whole.”