The majority of people are familiar with Dr. Oz from his talk show that first aired in 2009 after drawing in a buzz from his regular guest appearances as a health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
In tune with the end of his show’s run, the celebrity doctor transitioned into being a Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate last year.
“One of the great things about our democracy is that every citizen can decide to run for public office,” Winfrey told New York Magazine in a statement from her spokeswoman, Nicole Nichols. “Mehmet Oz has made that decision. And now it’s up to the residents of Pennsylvania to decide who will represent them.”
While he’s in his campaign run, a questionable video clip of his has recently resurfaced.
Dr. Oz's Views On Healthcare From 2013
During a 2013 National Governors Association winter meeting, Dr. Oz stated that uninsured Americans don’t have a right to healthcare and should instead have access to 15-minute checkups in a “festival-like setting,” according to The Independent.
"They Don't Have A Right To Health"
“Give them a way of crawling back out of the abyss, of darkness, of fear, of not having the health they need, and give them an opportunity,” he said, according to the outlet. “They don’t have a right to health, but they have a right to access, to get that health.”
Dr. Oz said the uninsured “don’t have the right to health,” but should be given “a way of crawling back out of the abyss” with “15-minute physicals” provided by the government “in a festival like setting.” pic.twitter.com/YMyhpZfEFI
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) September 7, 2022
Past Remarks
The Independent reports that “Dr Oz’s more conservative position is contrary to his stance on healthcare prior to becoming a Republican political candidate.”
Additionally, in a CNN report, the outlet shared the candidate’s past statements for over a decade that showed he supported health insurance mandates prior to his Senate run.
“It should be mandatory that everybody in America have healthcare coverage. If you can’t afford it, we have to give it to you,” Dr. Oz told The Seattle Times in 2009.
Obamacare
Dr. Oz also backed Obamacare and a healthcare plan for universal coverage, which he previously praised countries such as Germany and Switzerland for having as mandatory.
“Medicare Advantage for All”
Meanwhile, Dr. Oz has offered his own healthcare plan, which according to Blavity News, he does not name on his website.
The plan is known as “Medicare Advantage for All” and Lever News reports he would “expand access to private sector plans expanded by President Trump.”
