FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 3, 2025

Contact: Jack Cardinal, jcardinal@communitycatalyst.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the Senate voting to confirm Dr. Mehmet Oz as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Mona Shah, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy at Community Catalyst, issued the following statement:

“The confirmation of Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead CMS represents a grave threat to Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act in this country. Oz’s confirmation, like Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, is a large step backwards on health justice. And vulnerable communities will suffer as a result. 

“Dr. Oz’s record is clear. He has a long and well-documented history of promoting questionable medical practices over evidence-based care and he has consistently undermined the principles of health equity and justice. And he will gladly rubber stamp Republicans’ plans to gut the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and privatize Medicare. 

“Today’s action by the Senate is a stark reminder of the urgent work ahead to protect and strengthen Medicaid and Medicare, address the growing burden of medical debt, strengthen the Affordable Care Act, and ensure that our health system is accountable to the people it serves—not corporate interests or extremist agendas.”

Learn more about Community Catalyst’s work to protect and expand Medicaid and Medicare, combat medical debt, and advance health justice through health system innovation at www.communitycatalyst.org. 

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About Community Catalyst:   

Community Catalyst is a national organization dedicated to building the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all. We’re an experienced, trusted partner to organizations across the country, a change agent to policymakers at the local, state, and national level, and both an adversary and a collaborator to health systems in our efforts to advance health justice. We partner with local, state and national organizations and leaders to leverage and build power so that people are at the center of important decisions about health and health care, whether they are made by health care executives, in state houses, or on Capitol Hill. Together with partners, we’re building a powerful, united movement with a shared vision of and strategy for a health system accountable to all people. Learn more at www.communitycatalyst.org