By Carol Paris, M.D.
Seniors: Who do you trust with your health care? If you’re like me, you place a great deal of trust in Medicare, which you’ve paid into for your entire working life. If you’re like most Americans, you definitely don’t trust corporations like UnitedHealth (UHC) to pay for the care you need, when you need it.
Despite public opinion, President Donald Trump’s administration is gearing up to hand even more of our Medicare over to insurers like UHC. They’re planning to push hard for the “Medicare Advantage” (MA) program, which generates huge profits for insurers while punishing seniors with restrictions, surprise costs, and outright denials of care.
Republicans have a blueprint, Project 2025, which seeks to make MA the default enrollment option for Medicare beneficiaries, and a champion, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who supports an even more aggressive plan: Medicare Advantage for All.
The “Advantage” program has been very kind to UHC over the years, boosting its profits into the billions. In 2024, UHC captured 29% of the MA market. It also captured the anger of everyday Americans trying to use their substandard insurance − as well as the scrutiny of Congress and the wrath of medical professionals who are denied the ability to care for their patients.
I know this from personal experience, having recently consulted an orthopedic surgeon for knee pain. My doctor recommended trying an injection before jumping to surgery and explained the various options. I asked what he would recommend personally.
“It doesn’t matter what I recommend,” he said, “only what your insurance will authorize.” When I told him I had traditional Medicare, not a corporate MA plan, his dejection changed to enthusiasm. “That’s wonderful,” he said. “Now I can give you my best advice and administer the injection today.”
Patients and physicians suffer because of the roadblocks thrown up by firms like UHC: prior authorization requirements, restrictive provider networks, and frequent denials of care. These tactics bankrupt patients, lead to physical suffering, and fuel an epidemic of burnout among medical professionals.
Unlike most doctors practicing in the U.S., Dr. Oz sees all this and applauds. He has consistently promoted MA plans, and even proposed putting all Americans into the program. For seniors, that would mean no more public Medicare, not even as an option for those who want it.
Dr. Oz isn’t just a physician and TV personality, he is also an expert salesman. Whenever he peddles MA plans to vulnerable seniors, he highlights all of the supposed benefits (like extremely stingy dental coverage) and hides all of the many pitfalls.
He doesn’t tell you that, unlike traditional Medicare, MA plans restrict you to a narrow network of medical providers. He doesn’t tell you that many of these provider directories are ghost directories filled with inaccurate and outdated information. He doesn’t tell you that more and more hospitals are dropping MA contracts, leaving enrollees to either change plans or change hospitals, even in the middle of a serious health event like cancer treatment. He doesn’t tell you that the treatment your doctor recommends could be delayed or denied, sometimes by AI-assisted programs devoid of any human input.
Dr. Oz also doesn’t tell you that, at last reporting, he held $550,000 worth of UHC stock. Which should come as no surprise, because profit is the primary motivator for MA corporations, and for their most ardent supporters.
It’s time we reversed course on this corporate giveaway of Medicare. I urge you to connect the dots, and to encourage Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who sits on the Finance Committee tasked with Dr. Oz’s confirmation hearing, to vote “no.”
Originally published by Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP)—https://pnhp.org/