Dr. Oz goes to Washington

Post Reports

The Washington Post

Daily News, Politics, News

4.4 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mehmet Oz is President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a massive agency that oversees health coverage for more than 100 million Americans, including older adults, those with low incomes and children.

Oz is a cardiothoracic surgeon and former professor at Columbia University who became a household name when he started appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2004 and then hosted his own show, “The Dr. Oz Show,” from 2009 to 2022.

On Friday, Oz will face federal lawmakers in a Senate hearing as he seeks confirmation to run CMS, an agency that has a more than trillion-dollar budget and could face spending cuts in the budget year ahead.

Today on “Post Reports,” health accountability reporter Lauren Weber explains why he may face questions about his past, his investments and possible conflicts of interest.

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Peter Bresnan with help from Maggie Penman and Lynh Bui. It was mixed by Sam Bair.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I first heard about Dr. Mehmet Oz the way a lot of people did, when he first started
0:06.0	appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show in the mid-2000s.
0:09.0	Today, Dr. Oz is here to help us get healthy and literally peel off the years with the ultimate,
0:15.0	the Mac Daddy of anti-aging checklist. Dr. Oz, my Mac daddy.
0:23.4	We got a lot of goodies.
0:25.5	Oz was a successful heart surgeon
0:27.2	who became a television lifestyle guru
0:29.6	with a healthcare empire worth tens of millions of dollars.
0:33.9	I'm telling everybody right now,
0:35.3	get out your pencils and paper.
0:36.6	It's a lot of information.
0:38.2	On Oprah, and then on his own show, the Dr. Oz Show.
0:41.9	He promoted various diets, supplements, and regiments that he said would make people healthier fast.
0:48.6	Today, big news.
0:50.0	I'm announcing my biggest weight loss program to date.
0:59.0	It's been a year in the making, the total 10 rapid weight loss plan.
1:03.0	And we can rev up your metabolism forever. All I'm asking for is one week.
1:06.0	It's my seven-day miracle plan to boost your metabolism.
1:09.0	Today is all about miracles, revolutionary items big and small that to boost your metabolism. Today is all about miracles.
1:11.4	Revolutionary items big and small that could change your life.
1:15.3	His claims on that show, including the segments on possible weight loss regimens and dietary
1:20.1	supplements, were frequently panned by public health experts and fellow physicians.
	...

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