On November 11, 2025, the ongoing battle over America’s health care future took center stage yet again, as Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), appeared on Fox News Channel’s America Reports to discuss President Donald Trump’s vision for health care. The timing was no accident: just one day prior, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., publicly ridiculed Dr. Oz during a press conference, branding him a “fraud” and a “joke,” and igniting a firestorm across social media and the political establishment. The clash underscored not just the deep partisan divide, but also the persistent uncertainty surrounding the Republican Party’s elusive health care plan.
Dr. Oz, for his part, struck a conciliatory note on air, urging lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to seek bipartisan solutions. According to Fox News, he said, “We need to come together to solve the real issues facing Americans’ health care. This isn’t about politics—it’s about people.” Yet the backdrop to his appeal was anything but harmonious.
Jeffries’ criticism was sharp and personal. During his press conference, he interrupted a reporter’s question referencing Dr. Oz with a dismissive, “Who?”—prompting laughter from the audience. He elaborated, “Nobody serious in this country takes Dr. Oz seriously, no one. I mean, it’s shocking that the guy even was confirmed. But this is part of the reality of Republicans here in the House and over in the Senate, they’re nothing more than a rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s cruelty and extreme agenda.” As reported by The Mary Sue, Jeffries continued, “He’s a joke, these people are a joke.” He further lambasted the Republican record, noting, “They have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 70 different times in the last 15 years.”
The exchange quickly spilled onto social media, where users piled on with their own barbed commentary. One wrote, “Dr Oz claimed green coffee beans burned fat. He may not be a ‘joke’ but he’s definitely a fraud… and, thus, perfect for the Trump Admin.” Others echoed Jeffries’ call for substantive policy over what they saw as distraction and spectacle.
But the story goes deeper than personal insults. For nearly a decade, Donald Trump has promised to reveal a “terrific” health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. According to Vanity Fair, Trump first pledged to unveil his plan within his first 100 days in office—a promise repeated in 2020, when he said a new proposal would be released within “two weeks.” Yet, as of November 2025, no concrete Republican alternative has materialized.
Instead, Trump has taken to social media to float ideas that critics say lack substance. In a recent post, he declared, “I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over.” The proposal, as Vanity Fair points out, raises more questions than answers. Who would Americans buy insurance from if not through the existing marketplace? And what happens when people pocket the cash but can’t afford care when they get sick?
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has also alluded to a “secret” Republican health care plan, but has yet to disclose any details. Meanwhile, Dr. Oz told America Reports, “The administration has some ideas that we are still working on,” echoing the party’s ongoing ambiguity.
One concrete development is that Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), a former CEO of a major for-profit hospital chain, is reportedly drafting the GOP’s health care bill. Scott’s tenure in the private sector was not without controversy: his company was forced to pay $1.7 billion in fines for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, according to Vanity Fair. Critics argue that his involvement raises serious questions about the priorities and integrity of any forthcoming legislation.
Amid this policy vacuum, Dr. Oz’s own credibility has come under renewed scrutiny—not just for his role as CMS administrator, but for his personal financial conduct. On November 12, 2025, The Daily Beast reported that both Dr. Oz and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had used limited partnership structures to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in Medicare and Social Security taxes between 2021 and 2023. Bessent dodged about $910,000 in Medicare taxes from his hedge fund, while Oz sidestepped roughly $440,000 in taxes from Oz Property Holdings LLC, which includes Oz Media LLC.
Tax law experts, as cited by The New York Times and Bloomberg, have stated unequivocally that owners actively running limited partnerships are not exempt from self-employment tax, regardless of what they call themselves. “No one of good faith would argue otherwise,” said University of Baltimore law professor Walter D. Schwidetzky. The Justice Department is currently defending the IRS’s interpretation in court, with an appeal pending before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Yet enforcement may prove difficult. Since Trump returned to office, his administration has reduced IRS enforcement staff by nearly a quarter, according to The Daily Beast. Collecting these taxes could raise an estimated $250 billion over the next decade, based on Democratic proposals. But the IRS, now with diminished manpower, faces an uphill battle even if the courts ultimately uphold its position.
For their part, both Bessent and Oz have remained largely silent on the specifics of their tax strategies. A Treasury spokesperson told The New York Times that Bessent “was not involved in developing the Priority Guidance Plan and played no role in the decision to remove the limited partner exception from the guidance list.” The Justice Department, meanwhile, continues to defend the IRS’s original interpretation in court.
As the partisan sniping continues, one point of agreement emerges: the American health care system remains in urgent need of reform. Democrats, led by Jeffries, maintain that they are open to bipartisan discussions, but only with serious, qualified partners. Republicans, for their part, insist that a new plan is on the horizon, even if details remain elusive. Dr. Oz’s call for bipartisanship may sound appealing, but with trust eroding on both sides, the path forward is anything but clear.
With political tempers flaring and the stakes as high as ever, Americans are left waiting—still—for a health care solution that addresses both cost and coverage, rather than just the latest round of headline-grabbing soundbites.
