State Senator Gustavo Rivera on Dr. Oz's Confirmation as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

 

“The Senate’s confirmation of Dr. Mehmet Oz as the next Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is another sobering reminder of the Trump administration’s full fledged attack against our public health institutions and programs. 

Dr. Oz, who is better known as a TV personality with a history of elevating bogus medical advice, has neither the professional experience nor the healthcare policy acumen that should be required of the person overseeing our country’s key healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, CHIP, or the ACA health insurance marketplaces among others. It is important to remember that CMS administers programs that provide healthcare coverage to over 160 million Americans that rely on these otherwise cost prohibitive healthcare services.

With Republicans aiming to cut almost a trillion dollars from Medicaid nationwide in order to secure substantial tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, this confirmation further demonstrates this administration’s willingness to jeopardize access to healthcare for millions of Americans. 



This administration keeps promoting that they want to make America healthy again. However, it is going to be impossible to make that happen if we further privatize our healthcare. This is why New York must lead by example. This is the time for forward thinking solutions like my bill, the New York Health Act to finally guarantee access to healthcare to all New Yorkers.”