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WASHINGTON, DC – The key to improving Americans’ health is reducing healthcare costs while helping people stay active and productive for longer, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz told Digital.
In an exclusive interview at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., Oz shared the biggest lessons he’s learned about improving Americans’ health while serving in the Trump administration.
“You sit with lots of really smart people and you learn something pretty quickly: The most expensive thing we do in healthcare is give bad quality care,” he told Digital.
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“Because you’re paying someone who’s not qualified to do a bad job, and you’ve got to pay somebody to fix that job – they’re going to charge you – and you’ve got to fix all the downstream complications,” he added.
Dr. Mehmet Oz sat down with Digital at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., on July 6, 2026. (Angelica Stabile/ Digital)
When it comes to helping Americans stay healthy, Oz said his focus at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is on “quality, quality, quality.”
That includes everything from preventing disease to encouraging healthy behaviors at home, such as preparing healthy meals.
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“The second big thing we’ve got to do is make sure that every interaction we have in the health system is based on value,” Oz said. “We don’t just pay a doctor to do something to you, we want to pay a doctor to take care of you.”
The doctor said new healthcare technologies are making it easier to deliver high-quality care by “meeting you where you are.”
Fewer than half of Medicare beneficiaries take advantage of the program’s free annual wellness visits, according to Oz. (iStock)
“It’s one of the reasons I do want to embrace AI, if used safely and correctly,” he said. “As we get better and better with innovative medications, screening techniques and the ability to get people to think differently about their role, their job, when it comes to staying healthy, we’re going to prosper as a nation.”
According to the CMS administrator, every Medicare patient is issued a free annual wellness exam, but fewer than half of patients take advantage of it.
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Those who skip the annual wellness visit often assume they’re healthy when underlying problems may go undetected, Oz said, leading to more costly treatments later.
“They’re lying to themselves,” he said. “Ignorance is bliss, [but] not in healthcare.”
“We can get the average American to feel so vital, so with it, so healthy, that they want to work one more year,” the doctor said. (iStock)
In taking these steps to improve the health of Americans, Oz projected that the country could make major gains in wealth and vitality.
“We can get the average American to feel so vital, so with it, so healthy, that they want to work one more year,” he said. “The value to our nation is $1 trillion.”
“Think about that: $1 trillion of value to GDP, our nation, all the taxes, all the benefits, the social programs, all the extra revenue to help get our country to go full speed. If only we make our people so healthy they want one extra year.”
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Oz said most Americans do want to work as they get older, but may start to feel less physically equipped.
“They start to feel that they’re not in the game anymore. They’re not as strong,” he said. “So, let’s focus on health in America. We’ll spend less. We’ll also make more.”
