US Senator Warren demands Medicare nominee Dr. Oz sever industry ties
Source: Reuters
March 12, 2025 12:15 PM EDT Updated 27 min ago
WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the agency overseeing Medicare should divest financial ties to healthcare and pharmaceutical companies that could benefit from his policy decisions, Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Wednesday.
Television personality and surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz is scheduled to appear on Friday before the Senate Finance Committee, on which Warren sits. The panel will hold a confirmation hearing for his nomination to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a wide-reaching agency with annual spending of $2.6 trillion. In a letter addressed to him seen by Reuters, Warren called on Oz to divest from his financial holdings related to industries regulated by the agency and commit to strong ethics safeguards.
Oz owns healthcare stocks in UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N), which administers Medicare Advantage plans, and drugmakers Abbvie (ABBV.N), opens new tab and Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab which manufacture drugs his agency negotiates prices for, his latest ethics disclosure. He owns stocks and serves as advisor to several companies selling nutritional supplements, medical diagnostic technologies, and botanical products, as well as a cardiology practice and a retirement resort. Oz has offered to divest much of that and resign his advisory posts, Warren noted with appreciation.
"Still, given your close ties to the industry that you would regulate, if you are confirmed, the public would have reason to question your impartiality and commitment to serving the public’s interest," she wrote. Oz must fully divest from these conflicts and pledge not to use his position to enrich himself or his business associates, she said. This would exceed the legally required divestment. She also called for Oz to commit to a four-year lobbying ban after leaving his post.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-senator-warren-demands-medicare-nominee-dr-oz-sever-industry-ties-2025-03-12/
Link to Sen. Warren PRESS RELEASE - Ahead of Hearing, Warren Presses Dr. Oz, Key Trump Health Nominee, on Financial Conflicts of Interests
Link to Sen. Warren LETTER (PDF) - https://ct.symplicity.com/t/wrn/ea4f552820bf996271b95a4894cf61e2/3701452710/realurl=https:/www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_droz.pdf
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