Trump nominates Oz for CMS administrator

In a statement, Trump said Oz "will be a leader in incentivizing Disease Prevention, so we get the best results in the World for every dollar we spend on Healthcare in our Great Country. He will also cut waste and fraud within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation's Healthcare spend, and a quarter of our entire National Budget."

A person familiar with the situation told Politico that Oz was not among the early candidates for CMS administrator. Paul Mango, a former HHS official, was a top candidate but was not supported by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's nominee to lead HHS, according to a second person with knowledge of the situation who spoke to Politico.

In recent days, Oz has expressed support for Kennedy, saying in a post on X that "Americans need better research on healthy lifestyle choices from unbiased scientists, and [Kennedy] can help as HHS secretary."

Oz rose to fame as a healthcare expert on Oprah Winfrey's show for five years and later launched his own program, the Dr. Oz show, in 2009. Oz also lost a 2022 bid as the Republican candidate for Senate to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and had Trump's endorsement during the campaign.

Oz has previously been accused of promoting dubious medical treatments and products on his former TV show. One 2014 study looked at 40 episodes of Oz's show and found that just 46% of the medical claims he made were supported by evidence.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oz pressured government officials to make hydroxychloroquine widely available, despite questions about its safety and effectiveness. However, he also endorsed COVID-19 vaccines and masks.

What Oz could do at CMS

If confirmed, Oz would be responsible for Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act — the latter of which he said during his Senate campaign that he would support repealing.

Oz's past views could provide a hint as to what his priorities would be as CMS administrator. For example, Oz has previously used his platform to tout Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.

"These plans are popular among seniors, consistently provide quality care, and have a needed incentive to keep costs low," Oz said in an AARP candidate questionnaire. Oz also posted a YouTube video in August regarding the "benefits of enrolling" in MA. Oz even went so far as to promote the idea of enrolling the majority of Americans in MA plans as a path toward universal health insurance coverage.

In 2020, Oz and former Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson wrote an op-ed in Forbes touting the benefits of replacing private insurance, employer-sponsored insurance, and traditional Medicare with MA plans. Oz and Halvorson suggested funding "Medicare Advantage For All" using an "affordable 20% payroll tax" that would not affect people on Medicaid.

As CMS administrator, Oz would have significant power over MA, including reimbursement for the plans, Politico reports.

"Dr. Oz recognizes the value of Medicare Advantage and the high-quality, affordable, and comprehensive health care it provides to more than 34 million seniors and individuals with disabilities," said Mary Beth Donahue, president of the insurer-backed advocacy group Better Medicare Alliance.

In addition, if Oz continues his past promotion of alternative and unproven medicines while leading CMS, the agency could make coverage determinations that would allow for CMS reimbursement of methodologies that haven't been approved or evaluated by FDA, Inside Health Policy reports. And Oz's focus on experimental treatments could conflict with FDA's approval standards, which typically prohibit drug companies from promoting off-label uses of their products.

Oz could also potentially soften CMS' resistance to covering treatments it has asserted have limited evidence of benefit, even if they're approved by FDA, Inside Health Policy reports.

Oz would also have the potential to influence how CMS approaches artificial intelligence (AI). In a column published in April, Oz said there are a number of risks associated with AI, including that data could be trained on narrow demographics and not be applicable to broader groups of patients. At the same time, Oz also emphasized the benefits of AI.

"However, it is undeniable that what the American Medical Association is calling Augmented Intelligence--not artificial intelligence--can, in the hands of knowledgeable, trained scientists, speed the analysis of vast amounts of data and allow for the discovery of new ways to diagnose and treat a wide variety of conditions," Oz wrote.

If confirmed, Oz could also increase the chances that permanent Medicare telehealth provisions get passed, Inside Health Policy reports. Oz has on multiple occasions praised telehealth, going so far as to call for permanent telehealth in 2020.

"We should start by making these temporary reforms permanent," Oz wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Examiner. "The main barriers are not at the federal level. Medicaid and commercial reimbursement, as well as credentialing, are controlled by the states and only 20% require payment parity between telemedicine and in-person services."

In a LinkedIn post in 2023, Oz again emphasized his support for telehealth, predicting it would remain popular after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oz also has a history of supporting wearables, remote monitoring, and digital therapeutics, which Inside Health Policy reports could inform what technologies CMS covers, codes, and reimburses if led by Oz.

In 2016, Oz invested in and served as a special advisor to the digital health startup iBeat to develop a heart monitoring smartwatch, and in 2018, Oz called on the health sector to make sure health technologies like iBeat's watch were available to all patients.

iBeat has since rebranded to 100Plus, and in 2022, Oz endorsed 100Plus's remote patient monitoring program, saying remote patient monitoring "definitely improves the lives of senior patients and 100Plus is the company doing it right."

Reaction

Oz's nomination received praise from some members of the Senate, including Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician who sits on the Senate committee that will handle Oz's nomination.

"Glad to hear Dr. Oz has been nominated for CMS administrator," Cassidy said in a post on X. "It has been over a decade since a physician has been at the helm of CMS, and I look forward to discussing his priorities."

Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that Oz "seems qualified to me" and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said that Trump "added another all-star to his list of people that are very popular and want to help the country."

However, a number of Democrats criticized the pick, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who said that Oz's lack of experience would be "one of a great number of concerns."

"Given the crucial importance of this agency, I am alarmed that President-elect Trump has chosen a TV celebrity without the experience or background to lead it," said House Energy & Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). "Unfortunately, this nomination further demonstrates that Trump is not concerned about Americans' health care." (Hussein et al., Associated Press, 11/19; Zhang et al., STAT, 11/19; Leonard/King, Politico, 11/19; Karins, Inside Health Policy [subscription required], 11/19; Smith/Robles, Inside Health Policy [subscription required], 11/19)

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