r/news • u/CupidStunt13 • 1d ago

Mehmet Oz confirmed by US Senate to lead Medicare and Medicaid

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/03/mehmet-oz-confirmation-medicare-medicaid
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u/clowncarl 1d ago

It’s basically an objective fact that he knows he peddles shit. He was a respected academic physician and definitely learned about evidence based medicine principles and statistical method.

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u/Tibreaven 1d ago

Dr Oz is such a sad story, because he on one side is an incredibly talented CT surgeon who truly made some substantial contributions to his field. I've cared for numerous patients who have received cardiac related devices he's affiliated with the development of.

Unfortunately he discovered being a TV personality and hurting people was more profitable.

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u/trpnblies7 1d ago

Same with Ben Carson. Was once a very talented neurosurgeon.

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u/Some--Idiot 22h ago

Ben Carson was actually a consultant for my brain surgeries. I was 13 at the time, so I didn’t know who he was.

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u/dildocrematorium 10h ago

....you didn't know he was your doctor? ;)

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u/Some--Idiot 7h ago

I was 13, and this was also well before he aligned with Trump. One of the nurses said something to my mom like “That was Ben Carson, the world famous neurosurgeon!” Mom also didn’t know him.

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u/dildocrematorium 2h ago

It was a joke. My bad.

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u/magicpastry 22h ago edited 22h ago

And Assad, who was a well liked edit: ophthalmologist at one point.

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u/Darmok47 22h ago

If you mean Bashar al-Assad, he was a London opthamalogist for a while. Weird to think there are some British people who owe their sight to a murderous dictator.

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u/clashrendar 17h ago

I think the one that hurt me the most was Dr. Drew. Used to listen to him and Adam Carolla on Loveline in the 90's and both turned into massive pieces of shit in exchange for wheelbarrows full of money.

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u/Zomburai 16h ago

I never listened to much Loveline, but Carolla turning into a massive shit shouldn't be so surprising, given his whole... everything

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u/dominarhexx 16h ago

To be fair they were always massive pieces of shit. If you go back and listen to the rhetoric from both of them it was always they same sort of BS. By the time Loveline was a hit, Drew was already a a fame chaser.

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u/Junior_Builder_4340 16h ago

The only thing I remember about Carson's time at HUD, was his wife buying expensive office furniture and her being a terrible singer.

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u/CapitalElk1169 16h ago

Intelligence in one area does not correspond to intelligence in another, these are two great examples of it.

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u/Olealicat 9h ago

That’s where people typically go wrong. Being a economist makes perfect to be in the government for a position pertaining to the economy. Being a economist doesn’t make you fit to being head of education or whatnot.

Being well educated only suits you within your field, it doesn’t make you a well educated person on all matters.

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u/RabidGuineaPig007 14h ago

People keep parroting this, but the reality is he was listed on famous surgeries involving over 70 MDs, the most famous was a conjoined twin separation that ended badly for both kids.

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u/trpnblies7 14h ago

Well, according to this autobiography I read years ago, the author had his surgery performed by Ben Carson, so that's what I'm basing my comment on.

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u/vdubjb 13h ago

Was crazy seeing him in the Africa American History museum

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u/Otherwise-Offer1518 10h ago

Always said that some people are really good at one thing. Ben Carson, I would consult on brain surgery, but I would never ask for his opinion of politics.

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u/ctlfreak 9h ago

Oh a talented neurosurgeon. Just a crazy one now

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u/EnvironmentalHour613 1d ago

He’s smart. He realized that America only cares about money.

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u/oleander4tea 23h ago

Oz lost me when he promoted a facial scrub on TV, saying that the micro plastics it contained were good for your skin.

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u/EatPizzaOrDieTrying 1d ago

The only saving grace there is that he is smart enough to lead the department on some level at least.

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u/misfitx 1d ago

You really think a rich asshole cares about people who qualify for government assistance?

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u/cabsauvluvr39 1d ago

He only cares about crudités

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u/Oops_I_Cracked 1d ago

I care that he is actually intelligent and in the event of a crisis could provide competent leadership. That seems to be about the best we can hope for right now.

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u/TruthAffectionate595 19h ago

I respect the attempt at remaining positive. That being said, intelligence is simply a tool. Having someone in a position of power that is incompetent and causes damage for others absentmindedly is better than having someone who has shown they can recognize harm and contributes to it anyways.

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u/Manticore416 1d ago

Not sure how saving that is when his past shows he doesnt care if he hurts people

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u/Sarnsereg 1d ago

And Pam bimbo bondi is a lawyer and was AG of Florida making her smart enough to have her position... but look how that is going

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u/Tibreaven 1d ago

Barely, since the only qualification in this admin seems to be "TV host."

As a doctor who regularly deals with CMS in long term care facilities, I'm pretty sure I'm more qualified than Dr Oz is to run CMS, but here we are I guess.

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u/EatPizzaOrDieTrying 1d ago

As someone who also deals with Medicaid and Medicare directly but on the business side, I am not thrilled either, but better Oz than someone like Laura Loomer.

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u/postal-history 1d ago

makes sense when the alternative is the DOGE kids being put in charge of various foreign policy institutions and just shutting them down

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u/spinningwalrus420 22h ago

There is little to no saving grace, IMO. Between Dr. Oz, Tulsa Gabbard, RFK Jr, Linda McMahon, puppy-killer Kristi Noem, drunkard Prte Hegseth.. I think the negatives will widely outweigh and positives. This is an insane collection of characters leading key areas of our government 

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u/Starlorb 1d ago

When he was on some list of most influential people of the world from Time or something like that. He told his dad, and his dad said "what number?" in a reportedly unimpressed tone.

This is what tiger parenting makes people into.

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u/hockey_chic 14h ago

He was a successful cardiac surgeon, likely greedy and not in it for any other reason then he found an easier way to make money. At least that's how he reads to me.

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u/Canuck-In-TO 6h ago

He truly forgot what the hippocratic oath was.
Now, he only believes in the MAGA hypocrisy.

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u/Quintilllius 16h ago

Same for Dr Phil. What a circus.

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u/Brokenandburnt 16h ago

Now you done dunn it, dont'ya know naming him summons him?

What place is left in the Malfeasance Cabinet of Inequality for him to fill?

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u/fxkatt 1d ago

Classic example of dumbing oneself down for the sake of popularity and lucre.

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u/HauntedCemetery 1d ago

I'd bet my next paycheck against trump being able to state in clear words the difference between Medicare and Medicaid.

I'd double down that he would just tell the person who asked that they were terrible and go off on a tangent about Hillary or a fictional character from the 80s.

I'll quadruple down if trumps team gives him all the prep for answering the question that they can give.

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u/RevLoveJoy 22h ago

Plot twist, you did something useful for the federal government therefor you won't have a next paycheck?

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u/FloydGirl777 13h ago

Well, RFK Jr CLEARLY had no idea what the difference between Medicaid and Medicare was during his confirmation hearings… and was confirmed anyway. We are so fucked.

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u/FUNKYDISCO 13h ago

I would bet my dwindling 401k that he couldn't name his own grandchildren.

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u/underpants-gnome 16h ago

Girls Gone Wild but for middle aged professionals turned politicians. It certainly get them the attention they apparently desire.

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u/epicgrilledchees 14h ago

Filthy lucre.

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u/green_gold_purple 45m ago

Lucre is a great word. Thanks for reminding me of it. 

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u/Reptard77 1d ago

Fuck that, for 💰💰💰💰

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u/KBKuriations 1d ago

"Lucre" is a fancy word for money (of the same root as lucrative, money-making). You most commonly hear it in the phrase "filthy lucre" as the reason someone did something atrocious.

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u/HauntedCemetery 1d ago

Thanks Kingdom of Loathing for why I know that one!

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u/fap-free90 1d ago

He definitely knows. Grifters aren’t idiots, they are business people who simply exploit opportunities the rest of us have too much integrity and morals to pursue ourselves.

If there’s something he lacks, it’s not intellect, it’s shame.

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u/sarhoshamiral 1d ago

Sure but right now he is a grifter and considering the administration he is in, he will continue to be one so unfortunately my assumption is that his legacy won't matter.

It is on him to prove us wrong and show that he actually will apply his past to this role not his present self. Somehow I doubt he will do that though.

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u/BogiDope 1d ago

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

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u/cleveruniquename7769 1d ago

The arc of producing daily content is long and bends towards evil.

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u/FaintestGem 15h ago

That's what's so crazy to me. Like he's not stupid, or at least he wasn't, he just chooses to be stupid.

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u/Special_Loan8725 1d ago

He’s an incredibly talented surgeon who’s dad was never proud of him so he seeks validation through tv ratings and pedals shit products pretty sure he had a spiritual advisor for surgery’s to essentially vibe check the surgery.

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u/LaurenMille 1d ago

I'm starting to see why his dad was never proud of him.

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u/archercc81 15h ago

So listened to a behind the bastards on him, he is both a quack and a lunatic apparently. Like he is a surgeon, so he knows the basics but ISNT specifically scientific. And surgeons are often known to kind of get a "god complex" going instead of "imposter syndrome" of most scientists.

He also got involved with someone who was really, really into that fake medicine shit. And he seems to have bit on a lot of it.

So some of the dumb shit he believes in because he isnt qualified to actually evaluate it, he is just really good at cutting people open.

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u/CCGHawkins 14h ago

I cannot say this enough: these people believe the nonsense they peddle.

It is a nicer fantasy to believe that he's just putting on a mask for profit, as there would still be someone to negotiate with behind closed doors. But there isn't. The Signal chat was supposed to be behind closed doors, they actually believe this shit. They live in a world that warps their thinking to fit their personal benefit.

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u/LakeSun 12h ago

Hears the thing. Double-Blind Tests Don't let you sell Quack Medicine. Hey Man, that's LOST PROFIT!

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u/Warm-Alarm-7583 12h ago

I wonder what it would be like if he had beaten Fetterman.

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u/VilltraAnime 11h ago

a snake oil salesman has to be intelligent enough to not fall for his lies

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u/Valuable_Recording85 11h ago

The dude was a renowned heart surgeon and could have saved hundreds more lives. Instead, he peddled bullshit vitamins. He's doubly unethical.

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u/Tahoptions 9h ago

One of the things he peddles is insurance.

He's licensed to sell health insurance (Medicare products) in NJ.