Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz warned that Medicare for All could cost $47 trillion over the next decade, arguing that the proposal could create a two-tier healthcare system and restrict access to doctors and lifesaving medications.
Oz called the proposal “not Medicare for all, it’s Medicaid for all,” saying, “Rich people buy the care they want. Everybody else is stuck with what’s left.”
Oz, speaking on Fox News’ America Reports, cited a Council of Economic Advisers estimate for the plan’s cost. He said even the most aggressive Democratic tax proposals could raise only about half the required amount, leaving a roughly $25 trillion funding gap over 10 years. He warned that the shortfall could mean less access to treatment, reduced medical innovation and higher out-of-pocket expenses.
Oz Says Medicare And Medicaid Are Designed For Specific Groups
Oz said he supports Medicare and Medicaid, adding that President Donald Trump also “loves and cherishes” the programs. He said Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. believes they are designed for the populations they were created to serve.
Medicare was established 60 years ago for people aged 65 and older who had completed their working lives, Oz said. He warned that expanding the program could put its trust fund at risk, which he said has only “six, maybe seven years” remaining. He also said scaling up Medicare and Medicaid without understanding the consequences would be too risky, while welcoming a serious policy discussion.
Oz Points To Drug Pricing, Fraud And New Treatments
Oz said the administration was working to lower medication costs through Most Favored Nation pricing, a policy that aims to bring U.S. drug prices in line with prices in other high-income countries, and to remove $50 billion in Medicare fraud this year. He said Americans pay three times more than other countries for the same drugs and claimed that Congress codifying the pricing policy would guarantee $600 billion in taxpayer savings. He added that removing fraud could double the Medicare trust fund’s life expectancy.
Oz also discussed an executive order from President Trump last April to advance seniors’ access to psychedelics such as ibogaine. Citing an earlier appeal by podcaster Joe Rogan, he said the process had started, with manufacturers including Mark Cuban‘s Cost Plus involved in developing products for safety trials for veterans and others with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Medicare For All Cost Estimates Differ
Oz’s cost warning echoes concerns raised by Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. On Thursday, Goldwein estimated that Medicare for All could cost the government $20 trillion to $40 trillion over a decade, depending on its design, while responding to Democratic Sen.-elect Troy Jackson‘s call for the program.
The potential funding burden and how the government would negotiate prices are also part of the debate. Florida surgeon John Asghar has estimated that a Medicare for All-style system could require $3 trillion in additional annual federal funding by 2030 under a broad CBO scenario. Investor Mark Cuban, meanwhile, has warned that opaque healthcare pricing could leave the government “negotiating blind” under a single-payer system.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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