WASHINGTON — Key Democratic senators are demanding answers from Mehmet Oz on his "previous advocacy for Medicare privatization," referring to his call in 2020 for putting all seniors into private insurance plans under Medicare Advantage.
They're seeking clarity from the physician and TV personality known as "Dr. Oz" in a letter Tuesday, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., after President-elect Donald Trump picked him to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
"In the wake of that nomination, we write regarding our concerns about your advocacy for the elimination of Traditional Medicare and your deep financial ties to private health insurers," reads the letter, which was first obtained by NBC News.
The letter was co-signed by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who is set to become the ranking member of the Finance Committee, and five other Democrats in Congress.
The Finance Committee oversees the CMS nomination and its members, which include Warren, will get to question Oz. The letter serves as a preview of what Oz will face during the confirmation process, at least from Democrats. Republicans will hold a 53-47 seat majority and need 50 senators to confirm a nomination, meaning Democrats couldn't derail the pick without persuading at least four Republicans to vote against him.
The Democrats referred to a 2020 opinion piece that Oz co-wrote calling for putting all Americans into Medicare Advantage, effectively replacing the traditional Medicare program in which the government directly insures Americans 65 and older in tandem with private insurance plans.
"Indeed, private insurers that run the Medicare Advantage program drastically overcharge for care," the senators wrote, citing analysis from the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Committee.
In 2022, when Oz unsuccessfully ran for Senate in Pennsylvania, he offered a more modest platform that didn’t call for ending traditional Medicare, although he maintained his support for boosting Medicare Advantage. “We can expand Medicare Advantage plans," he wrote in an AARP questionnaire, calling the plans "popular among seniors" and arguing they "provide quality care" with the right cost incentives.
The lawmakers in the letter sounded skeptical.
"Your advocacy for eliminating the Traditional Medicare program and replacing it with Medicare Advantage also raises questions about your own financial conflicts of interest," the Democrats wrote in the letter. "In your financial disclosures from your 2022 Senate run, you reported owning over $550,000 of stock in UnitedHealth, the largest private insurer in Medicare Advantage and largest employer of physicians in the nation."
"The company is currently under a sprawling antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice — including for its role in aggressively upcoding Medicare Advantage enrollees to secure higher payments from CMS — and has been sued on multiple occasions for Medicare fraud. Under your plan, UnitedHealth’s revenue from Medicare Advantage would roughly double to $274 billion annually."
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed last week in a shooting that has captured the nation's attention.
The Democratic lawmakers asked Oz a series of questions, including whether he'll "continue to support policies that would eliminate Traditional Medicare" if confirmed to lead CMS and whether he'll "commit to opposing any and all efforts to privatize or cut Medicare."
They also asked if he'll "commit to fully divesting of any and all financial holdings related to the insurance industry if you are confirmed as Administrator."
Trump's transition team didn't immediately return a request for comment.
