Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Trump administration official and former television personality, became visibly agitated when questioned by a reporter about alleged healthcare cuts resulting from Republican legislation. In an interview, Molly Martinez of Gray Media pressed Oz on the issue, citing the case of women in North Dakota who had to travel up to two hours to reach a hospital for childbirth.
Mystery surrounds the specific legislation Martinez referred to as a "Big Beautiful Bill" that reportedly reduced federal healthcare spending. However, the exchange indicates that the bill's provisions have led to concerns about the closure of rural hospitals.
Martinez stated that the legislation cut $137 billion in rural healthcare spending, arguing that the funds were available and that the administration might have created the problem. Oz vehemently denied this, calling the figure "incorrect and dishonest and deliberately duplicitous," and characterizing it as an "industry talking point."
Oz countered by highlighting the Rural Health Transformation Program, which allocated $50 billion over five years for rural health initiatives. Martinez pushed back, noting that this amount was significantly less than the alleged $137 billion in cuts.
"That is incorrect and dishonest and deliberately duplicitous," Oz reportedly responded. He later asserted that "We didn't cut anything," and urged the journalist to "use your words carefully."
Citing reports from the Congressional Budget Office and other analyses, Martinez persisted, suggesting that the consequences of the legislation were directly impacting people, leading to deaths during transport to distant hospitals.
Eventually, Oz acknowledged that funds were "correctly taken out" of Medicaid, describing it as "legalized money laundering" that "was going to bankrupt the system."