From TV Doctor to Power Broker: Dr. Oz Thrives on Trump’s Team

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:08)
You're listening to Bloomberg Businessweek with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Radio.

**Carol Massar** (0:14)
Hey listen, we want to switch gear to another great story that's definitely on our radar. Nobody's a peer of President Trump, but it does feel like Dr. Oz comes awfully close.

**Tim Stenovec** (0:24)
Yeah, check out these similarities between the two of them. They're both wealthy television stars of the early 2000s.

**Carol Massar** (0:29)
Check.

**Tim Stenovec** (0:29)
Degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

**Carol Massar** (0:31)
Check.

**Tim Stenovec** (0:32)
They became regulars on the Palm Beach social scene before entering Republican politics.

**Carol Massar** (0:36)
Check, check.

**Tim Stenovec** (0:37)
And as a member of Trump's administration, Oz's remit has been sprawling, that's according to people familiar with the matter, who were quoted and spoken to by Rachel Cohrs Zhang, Bloomberg News health policy reporter, who writes all about how Dr. Oz is thriving.

**Carol Massar** (0:52)
I had no idea and I, anyway, let's get going.

**Tim Stenovec** (0:54)
It's the perfect story because it's like, wait a second, we don't think about this, well, you did interview him at Milken, right?

**Carol Massar** (0:59)
I did, I did, but it's interesting. I didn't realize his purview was so, like he oversaw so much. Let's get to it with Rachel, she is here.
He is the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. You write, though, he's become the heir apparent to lead the health department if RFK Jr. departs. Tell us a little bit about what you found out.

**Rachel Cohrs Zhang** (1:21)
So I found that typically the CMS administrator really focuses on health insurance. They're running Medicare, Medicaid. It's a lot of money, and it's really technical programs. It's really wonky. Usually people don't pay a whole lot of attention to it. But because Dr. Oz is close to the president, and he has forged a friendship with Secretary Kennedy, he gets brought into the room on big discussions that are happening about health policy, including on childhood vaccinations and global health affairs.
It's really unusual, but I think it's not a high conflict exercise. It's really interesting how he operates.

**Tim Stenovec** (1:55)
We should note that there's no indication that RFK Jr is going to depart and you make that point in the piece.

**Rachel Cohrs Zhang** (1:59)
Yes. No, not before the midterms. It's kind of the expectation.

**Tim Stenovec** (2:03)
But there is this view in Washington that it's kind of surprising that he's lasted this long, right?

**Rachel Cohrs Zhang** (2:07)
Certainly. But I think the president really likes Secretary Kennedy and he's really on board with a lot of his ideas.

**Tim Stenovec** (2:13)
Well, on the health side of things, going back to Dr. Oz, we've learned some things about what makes someone click with this president. What is it that makes Dr. Oz click with this president?

**Rachel Cohrs Zhang** (2:23)
I think, as you said, they do have a lot in common, but I think Dr. Oz is somebody who likes to explain things. He has built a great team around him and he's interested in the policy ideas. When I talked to people who had briefed him, they said he just inhaled the information and he loves to dig into the details.
I think the president understands that the Medicare constituency is honestly really important in politics and he trusts Dr. Oz to deliver wins for him and turn these big ideas he has into things that actually work in the government.

**Carol Massar** (2:55)
I love this exchange because often you see in a term, a presidential term, people leaving midway, and that he committed to President Trump to serve his full term. He said, okay, I'll give you the job, but I'm going to insist on four years.
Oz committed to that, said he's going to go the distance here. I think that's interesting. Has his responsibilities and his access kind of grown since he's come to this position?

**Rachel Cohrs Zhang** (3:25)
Absolutely, certainly. And I think Secretary Kennedy never was a hands-on manager in his prior roles either, so I think they've really worked on building a team around him to handle some more of those day-to-day management solutions. And I think the White House certainly values Dr. Oz as somebody who can kind of translate from the White House and the goals we want and try to get Secretary Kennedy fully on board with that and just figure out how to make it happen. And he's really served that role.

**Carol Massar** (3:53)
Does the medical community as a whole, I'm just curious, as you guys were talking to different folks, do they also think, okay, this is good, this is kind of having an adult in the room or how do they feel about this?