Wyden says Medicaid chief Dr. Oz is past due for promised Oregon visit

Sen. Ron Wyden is renewing his call for Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to visit eastern Oregon and fulfill a commitment Oz made as a nominee during his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this year.

The request comes as former President Donald Trump has urged Congress to deliver his “One, Big Beautiful Bill Act” by July 4. The

proposed legislation

seeks to scale back Medicaid spending, introduce new restrictions on the program’s eligibility and expand military and immigration enforcement, while also extending prior tax cuts.

In a letter Wednesday, Wyden urged Oz to visit Malheur County and meet with families who rely on Medicaid. More than half of the county’s population is enrolled in the program.

Oz, a former television personality, told the Senate Finance Committee in March he would visit Malheur County within 60 days “if allowed.” Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the committee, wrote that his office and Oz’s agency had tentatively planned on a visit in August but wants the meeting to come sooner.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid did not immediately respond to emailed questions about whether Oz will follow through with his plan to visit Oregon.

The Republican-backed bill, which passed the House on May 22, is moving through Congress via a fast-track process known as budget reconciliation. This maneuver allows legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority — enabling Republicans to move forward without Democratic support.

The bill proposes major changes to Medicaid, including new work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks and increased income and residency verifications. Supporters say the changes would reduce “waste, fraud, and abuse” in the program, while critics warn the added red tape could lead to widespread coverage loss.

The legislation also includes penalties for states that offer Medicaid coverage to undocumented immigrants or legal residents who haven’t met eligibility thresholds, by reducing federal reimbursement for those populations.

In Oregon, Medicaid covers about 1.4 million people — roughly one-third of the state’s population, including 57% of its children. The Oregon Health Authority estimates the bill could cost the state more than $1 billion in federal funding over the next two years and could result in up to 200,000 people losing coverage.

“As the person appointed by Trump to oversee the Medicaid program, you need to look my rural constituents in the eye, hear their stories, answer their questions, and explain Republicans’ harmful health care cuts,” Wyden wrote.