Dr. Oz pushes back on criticism that GOP is cutting Medicaid
President Donald Trump's favorite celebrity doctor is standing behind his new boss on an issue that has sparked opposition even among some Republicans.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Trump-appointed administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, wouldn't concede in an interview with POLITICO'S newest podcast that the budget megabill passed by the House will cut Medicaid.
Oz argued in an interview on The Conversation with Dasha Burns that the Medicaid work requirements in the sprawling legislation will 'future proof' the program — in line with administration goals to protect social services.
'Every great people takes care of their most vulnerable, and we're a great nation,' Oz said in the interview scheduled to run Sunday. 'We're gonna do that. So there's a lot of sensitivity about being accused, accused of not taking care of people who have disabilities or seniors without money or children.'
Trump's mission, Oz said, is to ensure the program remains solvent.
'I'm trying to save Medicaid,' he said. 'That's the president's goal as well. He said over and over again, he wants to love and cherish these programs and we need to keep them viable.'
When Oz was sworn into his post in April, Trump insisted there would be no cuts to Medicaid.
But a Congressional Budget Office report from May estimated that 7.6 million people would become uninsured if the Medicaid portions of the GOP megabill go into effect. Even some top Republicans, including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, worry the cuts will hurt the party.
A wing of 'corporatist Republicans,' Hawley claimed in a May New York Times op-ed, 'wants Republicans to build our big, beautiful bill around slashing health insurance for the working poor. But that argument is both morally wrong and politically suicidal.'
GOP Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine are also expressing reservations with the House bill's Medicaid cuts.
Democrats, meanwhile, are capitalizing on the issue — with ads hammering House Republicans for voting to cut spending set to begin running next week.
Oz pushed back, telling Burns the vast majority of Americans agree with the White House push to enact work requirements in exchange for healthcare.
'We're not cutting Medicaid,' he told Burns. 'I've seen the proposals. There is no proposal I've seen, in fact, in fairness, that doesn't increase spending on Medicaid.'
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