Dr. Mehmet Oz suffered a rare setback in 2022 for an incredibly successful person. The heart surgeon once dubbed “America’s Doctor” holds a medical degree and MBA from Penn, once hosted a hit TV show and is a New York Times bestselling author.

Then he lost a U.S. Senate race to Democrat John Fetterman.

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“Losing elections is not fun,” Oz said. “You do feel like you’ve been shot.”

But now Oz really is “America’s Doctor” as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which provides healthcare to half the United States. President Donald Trump, who endorsed his Senate run, announced he would appoint him to the position shortly after the 2024 election.

“What the president asked me to do, and what the Senate confirmed me to do, is to protect our most vulnerable,” Oz said.

He defines that as kids, seniors and the mentally disabled. Critics insist that’s who will be most harmed by the coming cuts to funding.

“If we’re going to have enough money and resources, not just money but people to take care of these vulnerable Americans, we’ve got to draw the line somewhere,” Oz said.

One place he said he wants to draw that line is on gender affirming care for minors, which he calls “sex rejecting procedures.” He’s threatened to withhold Medicaid and Medicare funding to hospitals that perform such care.

Oz said taxpayer dollars just don’t need to pay for the procedures. Because Medicaid covers low-income Americans of all ages, some hospitals received reimbursements for providing care to transgender patients younger than 18 years old.

It’s an unreasonable move, said the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which insist such care can improve patients’ physical and mental health. The Shapiro Administration joined a lawsuit arguing the policy usurps state powers.

“I wouldn’t pay for female circumcision,” Oz said. “We don’t pay for preventative lobotomies.”

Oz also opposes legalizing recreational cannabis, and he wants more research on its medicinal value.

“Especially for young people in America,” Oz said. “I think any time you believe you have to have a drug in your body to live your full life, you’re being misled.”

For years, Oz argues, pharmaceutical companies have misled the U.S. by billing Americans three times higher prices for the same drug than other countries.

“How is that possible?” Oz said. “We went after them.”

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Oz’s 2022 defeat was his only election, and he said rebounding from defeat is a part of life. When asked if he’ll ever run again, he didn’t say yes or no.

“I happen to be in a good place now, but I’m sure I’ve got more failures coming down the pike,” Oz said. “I mean, God works in mysterious ways.” (ABC 27)