From TV star to powerful government official. That's the path taken by President Donald Trump and his new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) -- Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Oz was a heart surgeon and medical school professor for years. He achieved fame thanks to frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which led to his hosting his own TV program, The Dr. Oz Show. Oz ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022.
But that didn't end his political career. The Senate officially confirmed Oz to head CMS on April 3. Here's what retirees need to know so far.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Oz's confirmation went along party lines
All 53 Republican senators voted to confirm Oz to head CMS. None of the 45 Democratic senators voted for his confirmation. What were the minority party's objections to having Oz run CMS?
For one thing, some Democrats were concerned about Oz's potential conflicts of interest. He has disclosed investments in big drugmakers AbbVie and Eli Lilly and giant health insurer UnitedHealth Group, among others. These healthcare companies receive payments from Medicare. Oz did commit to divesting any financial interests in these companies.
There were also questions raised during Oz's Senate confirmation hearing about his past support for controversial therapies. For example, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, asked Oz about his advocacy of green coffee extract, which the senator said was fraudently marketed as a "miracle weight-loss drug."
Probably the biggest objection to Oz's confirmation, though, was that he wouldn't commit to fighting attempts to cut Medicaid.
2. Oz has previously promoted Medicare Advantage
Oz has been a longtime proponent of Medicare Advantage plans. He and former Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson proposed expanding Medicare Advantage because they believed it's better than traditional Medicare.
It remains to be seen how aggressively Oz will promote Medicare Advantage now that he's running CMS. During his Senate confirmation hearing, he promised to "go after" a fraudulent practice that can be problematic for Medicare Advantage called upcoding, by which healthcare providers file claims for more expensive procedures or diagnoses than the actual procedure or diagnosis to receive a higher reimbursement from Medicare.
3. What Oz says his Medicare priorities are
Oz acknowledged several problems for Medicare during his confirmation hearing, including the fact that healthcare costs are growing faster than the economy and that the Medicare Trust Fund will run out of money within the next decade. He told the told the Senate Finance Committee that he had three top priorities as the administrator of CMS.
First, Oz wants to "empower beneficiaries with better tools and more transparency, so the American people can better navigate their health, as well as dealing with the complex healthcare system we have created for them." He specifically mentioned increasing transparency related to prescription drug costs.
Second, he wants to provide incentives to healthcare providers to "optimize care." Oz thinks that using artificial intelligence (AI) can "liberate doctors and nurses from all the paperwork" and allow them to focus more on patients.
Third, Oz plans to aggressively reduce waste, fraud, and abuse with Medicare and Medicaid. The previously mentioned upcoding issue was one area that he discussed targeting.
4. There has been one Medicare surprise so far
Oz has been at the helm of CMS for less than a week. There has already been one Medicare surprise. On April 8, 2025, CMS announced a higher-than-expected payment increase for Medicare Advantage plans. It's unclear if Oz was involved in the decision, but the move could indicate that he'll continue his previous support for Medicare Advantage plans as head of CMS.
