Even though he lost a bid for the U.S. Senate and is widely seen as a laughingstock among respected members of the medical establishment, Donald Trump nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shortly after winning the 2024 presidential election.
However, comments Oz made several years ago to the National Governor’s Association could derail his chances of getting confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
In 2013, Oz told governors attending a conference that any Americans without health insurance “don’t have the right to health,” and should instead be provided with “a way of crawling back out of the abyss of darkness of fear over not having the health they need.”
How would that be accomplished? According to Oz, physicals in a “festival-like” setting would suffice for the uninsured.
“You can screen thousands of people for almost nothing, and you allow a conversation and take place in more of a festival-like setting,” Oz said. “It’s not scary, and I mentioned earlier that almost everybody’s come into our … physicals has a job, but a lot don’t have insurance.”
“Give them a way of crawling back out of the abyss of darkness of fear over not having the health they need, and give them an opportunity, cause they don’t have the right to health, but they have the right to access a chance to get that health.”
So if you’re without insurance, Dr. Oz thinks all you deserve is a 15-minute mini exam from a doctor at a health festival.
But what if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness at one of Dr. Oz’s traveling medical shows and still lack insurance? Are you wished good luck or would he advocate the immediate termination of your life because you’re a strain on the American healthcare system?
Senate Democrats are making it clear that they aren’t inclined to approve Oz to head the Medicare and Medicaid programs, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) noting that Oz has frequently called for privatizing Medicare via Medicare Advantage plans.
Warren said she has “concerns about your advocacy for the elimination of Traditional Medicare and your deep financial ties to private health insurers.”
It remains to be seen if Oz can secure the votes he needs for confirmation. But if he does, don’t be surprised if the U.S. medical system becomes yet another thing only the wealthiest Americans can access and afford. The rest of us, it seems, will have to suffer and die while Dr. Oz and his money-grubbing buddies further enrich themselves.