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As doctors, we are sworn to uphold the Hippocratic Oath, which means we need to put patients’ needs first. We believe Dr. Mehmet Oz has broken this oath time and again.
We believe the nomination of Dr. Oz to be the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services goes against this oath because he is unqualified and promotes scamming patients.
The American Medical Association has spoken out about Dr. Oz giving bogus medical advice in the past. In an opinion piece published by Scientific American on Dec. 15, 2021, Timothy Caulfield stated: “While holding a medical license, Mehmet Oz, widely known as Dr. Oz, has long pushed misleading, science-free and unproven alternative therapies.” Dr. Oz said hydroxychloroquine was a treatment for COVID-19, with no proof. In 2018 there was a $5.25 million settlement in a lawsuit against him for touting coffee extract supplements for weight loss.
Dr. Oz wants to replace traditional Medicare with for-profit Medicare Advantage plans. Many Medicare Advantage plans are overcharging the government, by $83 billion a year, according to studies. For example, they do home visits to add diagnoses that make patients seem sicker than they are. Then they charge the government more. This money goes to stockholders instead of patients. With that money, seniors could get the vision, hearing and dental coverage they deserve from traditional Medicare.
This is beyond politics. Our patients deserve a better leader for this agency.
Please call Sen. Susan Collins Bangor office at 207-945-0417 and Sen. Angus King at 207-622-8292 and strongly urge them to vote against Dr. Oz.
Kathryn Bourgoin, MD
Daniel Oppenheim, MD
Orono
