Out of all of the many eyebrow and blood pressure-raising appointments to the incoming president’s cabinet that have been released in plumes of white smoke disguised as posts on Truth Social since a majority of Americans decided to bring him back to the country’s highest office, one that has been derided a bit more than others was the one that the three-headed hydra of reporters–aka THE NEW YORK TIMES’ Dani Blum, Emily Schmall and Nina Agrawa reported on yesterday:
“America’s doctor” could soon have an even bigger hand in shaping health care in the United States.
On Tuesday, President-elect Donald J. Trump announced that he would nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz, a longtime TV personality, to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a powerful role that would give him control over a more than $1 trillion budget and influence over drug price negotiations, medication coverage decisions, the Affordable Care Act and more.
I’m perhaps a tad less conflicted about this than some of the other Celebrity Apprentice castings which now serve as a nearly daily source of clickbait and debate topics, if for no other reason than I’ve had several folks close to me who have personally dealt with Oz and indeed owe their livelihood and life to him. One was a friend’s mother whom Oz supervised open heart surgery for during his day job as a respected cardiologist at NEw York’s Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. She raved about his knowledge and bedside manner, gushing that he was even better looking in person.
And around that time, I learned that another such grateful patient just happened to be Rupert Murdoch. When an announcement came down during a high-level Sony offsite that his show was being surprisingly renewed by the FOX owned and operated stations despite tepid ratings (their head of acquisitions had confessed to folks dealing directly with him that the renewal directive came directly from “the boss”), the team of sales and production executives with direct oversight of the show were openly toasting their good fortune, albeit at the expense of an octogenarian billionaire’s struggles with his ticker.
Indeed, many of them wouldn’t have had a high-paying stable job for the majority of the 2010s were it not for Oz. Oprah Winfrey had already served as a launching pad for shows featuring two of her other frequent contributors, country shrink Dr. Phil McGraw and EVOO evangelist Rachel Ray. At the time, with her longtime syndication partners King World now part of a sprawling CBS family, those projects wound up being sold by Paramount. and McGraw in particular was a runaway hit, strategically scheduled by stations in time slots adjacent to Oprah. But by the time Oz was being teased for his own spin-off, Roger King had killed himself and no such first dibs to CBS was assured. Given an opportunity to competitively bid by a one-time King World executive who had worked closely with Sony management on other projects, Sony swooped in with an aggressive bid and earned the rights to sell DR. OZ in 2009. Lo and behold, it was a success, one of the few that Sony was able to launch in first-run syndication. And when OPRAH bid farewell to daytime talk two years later, in many cities, including those housing several of her ABC O and O flagships, DR. OZ was her successor.
It’s been well documented that as Oz’s show evolved so too did the credibility of his segments–and not just the one where Trump had an entire show devoted to him. The TIMES trio pointed out a couple of others :
Dr. Oz has a long history of promoting dubious weight loss products, including raspberry ketones, garcinia cambogia and green coffee bean extract, frequently extolling their “magic” or “miracle” ability to help people drop pounds. Many of these claims lack evidence or have been proved false. In 2014, a Senate subcommittee grilled Dr. Oz about his endorsements of weight loss products, with Senator Claire McCaskill telling him that “the scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of a few products that you have called miracles.”
He’s not the first nor will he be the last TV medical expert to do that. At around the same time, several of the panelists on another daytime show, THE DOCTORS, were also touting such panaceas, sometimes with “promotional considerations” attached. It should be remembered that the guy who steered that ship just happened to be Dr. Phil’s nepobaby Jay (and thus the reason CBS sold the show for nearly a decade).
In a 2014 episode of the Dr. Oz Show, the camera panned over a table with a tincture, some tea and a bottle of supplements. “They were once considered fringe therapies,” Dr. Oz said. “Now, they’ve gone mainstream.”
He pointed to coenzyme Q10, a popular diet supplement, as a remedy for high blood pressure and suggested viewers try Valerian root to treat anxiety. There is some evidence to suggest that coenzyme Q10 might help reduce systolic blood pressure in certain patients, but experts have said more research is needed. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has said there’s not enough evidence to show that Valerian root is helpful for anxiety.
Look, I’ve actually taken Valerian root at the recommend of someone who never saw Oz, and I can attest that it has worked wonders for me.
So, again, I’m a notch more open-minded about Oz’s qualifications than many others seem to be. But I can’t shake my distaste for the person that emerged when I came face-to-face with him during a day-long, highly anticipated summit between Oz and his executives and the evolving Sony management team that the head of first-run touted as “Ozapalooza”. Every executive having anything to do with anything Sony, including those from the sister gaming and theatrical divisions, were asked for presentations and brainstorming on how the full power of Sony could be harnessed to reinvigorate the show as it was heading into its second decade. Out of those meetings emerged the plans for Oz to get into our game show world, as a pretty mediocre guest on THE $100,000 PYRAMID and perhaps the least qualified auditioner to host JEOPARDY! that arose during that search.
Mehmet, as we learned people who have issues with him refer to him, sat silently and with a concerned face as the day wore on, deferring more detailed feedback to his production colleagues who accompanied him from New York. But when he finally did speak, it was loudly and abrasively. “Why the f–k isn’t my show sold in Turkey?!?! I have a deal to promote Turkish Airlines and you dopes can’t even get it on the air there?!”
Mind you, his rapidly eroding U.S. ratings and the limited opportunities for ANY U.S. content to be sold there–particularly a daytime show geared to American housewives–were reasons enough for a logical person to at least temper one’s expectations. But not Mehmet. For the balance of Ozapalooza, the taste his disdain left in our mouths was far more lingering than the overloaded garlic aioli on our sandwiches we got from our surprisingly signed-off on catered lunch.
When his show was cancelled during the middle of the 2021-22 season, it was assumed that the main reason was what was cited by COMING SOON.net’s Namrata Ghosh last night:
The Dr. Oz Show was canceled after Mehmet Oz announced his run for the United States Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022. This November 2021 decision surprised many of his longtime fans and viewers (via The Hollywood Reporter). Following this announcement, Pennsylvania television stations and surrounding markets dropped the show due to the Federal Communications Commission’s equal-time rule. This rule requires broadcast stations to provide equivalent airtime opportunities to all opposing political candidates upon request.
That’s only partially true. It also allowed a long-simmering development project from Sony’s first-run team to finally see the light of day. This was the spin that Gnosh unearthed:
A spinoff show, The Good Dish, replaced The Dr. Oz Show. It is hosted by Daphne Oz, Mehmet Oz’s daughter and Emmy-winning personality. She is joined by Top Chef judge Gail Simmons and chef Jamika Pessoa. The show began airing on January 17, 2022. The Good Dish evolved from popular cooking segments on The Dr. Oz Show. It features exciting recipes, practical cooking tips, and lively culinary discussions. These elements appeal to a wide audience.
Not quite. THE GOOD DISH’s ratings were even weaker than DR. OZ’s; unsurprising considering many of the folks and topics involved had already failed miserably on ABC in the form of THE CHEW, an attempt to riff off THE VIEW that went belly up quicker than many of their out-of-the box recipes. And the team that was so beholden to Oz was summarily sent packing as well.
There are plenty of folks who are justifiably concerned that Oz’s appointment to an area he has little practical experience in is to be a willing stooge to implement the whims of Trump and his allies, much as his candidacy for Senate in Pennsylvania–despite only technically being a resident–ultimately was proven to be. This morning a troika of KFF HEALTH NEWS writers– Stephanie Armour, Sam Whitehead and Julie Rovner–passionately raised that issue:
President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House could embolden Republicans who want to weaken or repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Trump, long an ACA opponent, expressed interest during the campaign in retooling the health law. In addition, some high-ranking Republican lawmakers — who now have control over both the House and the Senate — have said revamping the landmark 2010 legislation known as Obamacare would be a priority. They say the law is too expensive and represents government overreach.
The governing trifecta sets the stage for potentially seismic changes that could curtail the law’s Medicaid expansion, raise the uninsured rate, weaken patient protections, and increase premium costs for millions of people.
I guess being a willing stooge for political agendas in exchange for financial considerations, all the while believing the ratings for your show are far better than they actually are, are qualities that these days tend to pay off. Maybe that’s why these two schmucks are so sympatico.
Be sure to go light on the garlic aioli when you next share a meal with your enabler, Mehmet. I hear he prefers ketchup.
Until next time…