Demand Progress

The stack of reasons why the Senate should block Trump’s nomination of Dr. Oz to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is growing by the day.

The New York Times released a report on the COVID misinformation Dr. Oz spread during the pandemic. Oz has promoted sham diet pills and made money off of a recalled medical device.¹ This is just the beginning. His financial conflicts of interest, the danger he poses to Medicare, and his history of Big Pharma marketing all disqualify him from having control over the nation’s biggest public insurance programs.

Sign the petition: Urge your Senators to OPPOSE Dr. Oz’s nomination to lead Medicare and Medicaid.

Dr. Oz’s time as a TV doctor included marketing partnerships with Big Pharma company Novo Nordisk. As head of CMS, he’d be in charge of making decisions that could be very lucrative for pharmaceutical companies.² He also has investments in CVS and UnitedHealth,³ companies that could reap major financial gains based on CMS decisions.

These conflicts of interest are disqualifying. And so are the heaps of health-related misinformation he spread to the world on TV. The Senate must stop his confirmation.

Sign the petition: Block Dr. Oz!

Sources:

1. New York Times, “Dr. Oz, Tapped to Run Medicare, Has a Record of Promoting Health Misinformation,” November 20, 2024.
2. Washington Post, “Potential conflicts of interest may haunt Dr. Oz’s confirmation to run Medicare, Medicaid,” December 2, 2024.
3. NPR, “TV's Dr. Oz invested in businesses regulated by the agency Trump wants him to run,” November 22, 2024.