Is Universal Health Care for the United States on the Horizon?
- Stephen F Hightower MD FACP
- Dec 5, 2024
- 2 min read
By Stephen F Hightower MD FACP
“Healthy Citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.” Winston S Churchill
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Dear Mr. President, Honorable Members of Congress and Distinguished Staff and Fine Citizens,
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz, professor emeritus of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University, to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 19, 2024. Dr. Oz has been a proponent of Medicare Advantage and has pitched expanding the program to extend coverage to all Americans in both previous and more recent discussions.
In an op-ed in Forbes in 2020, Dr. Oz and the former Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson proposed expanding Medicare Advantage plans to everyone not already enrolled in Medicaid. At that time, they proposed rebranding the program as “Medical Advantage” and considered funding coverage for all citizens through a 20% payroll tax. Dr. Oz and Mr. Halverson argued that universal Medicare Advantage could eliminate Medicare fraud as a government expense and reduce administrative costs.
Dr. Oz also wrote in 2020, “The complex array of payers in our hodgepodge payment non-system that has created a massive administrative burden would shrink significantly, and once instituted, the universal Medicare Advantage plans should be obligated to reduce excess administrative costs by a third.
During a bid for the Senate seat for Pennsylvania in 2022, Dr. Oz proposed expanding Medicare Advantage plans to “all Americans who want them.” He described these plans as “high-quality, low-cost, beloved by seniors, and that they should be available to everyone who wants them”
Ms. Mary Beth Donahue, CEO of the Better Medicare Alliance, a pro Medicare Advantage advocacy group, backed by insurers, said the group “looks forward to working with Dr. Oz to strengthen the program.” In a November 19th statement, Ms. Donahue also noted, “Dr. Oz recognizes the value of Medicare Advantage and the high-quality, affordable and comprehensive health care it provides to more that 34 million seniors and individuals with disabilities.”
A report by Politico noted that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the next HHS secretary, who does not have specific public views on Medicare and Medicaid, would likely give Dr. Oz significant power to chart the course for CMS.
A Nov 19th statement on Truth Social, by Mr. Trump, said that Dr. OZ will work closely with Mr. Kennedy to take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephen F Hightower MD FACP
Copy to: We The People at fixingushealthcare.com
This is great news of which I was unaware. There will be strong headwinds in Congress, but where there is a will there is a way!