Dr. Mehmet Oz, recently appointed as head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is spearheading a bold new era in U.S. healthcare policy. In sync with President Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative and the enactment of the comprehensive One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Dr. Oz is rolling out an ambitious set of reforms that aim to address chronic inefficiencies, expand access, and reduce healthcare costs for millions of Americans.

A major pillar of this effort is the significant investment of $50 billion to transform healthcare access in rural America. These funds are earmarked to ensure that families in remote and underserved areas receive the medical support they need. State governors will play an instrumental role in leveraging these resources, with Dr. Oz emphasizing that “every one of the governors has an opportunity to pull down some of this money”—a clear call for nationwide collaboration to bridge the urban-rural health divide.

Reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid is another top priority, enabling more effective use of federal funds and freeing up resources for genuine patient care. In addition, the new CMS leadership is introducing streamlined prior authorization for Medicare, leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer patients faster access to necessary procedures while minimizing bureaucratic hurdles.

Dr. Oz is also championing value-based care, focusing on outcomes rather than volume. He acknowledges that while value-based initiatives are key to better health and lower costs, measuring results remains a challenge. By incentivizing quality and demanding measurable improvements, his vision is to ensure that U.S. healthcare delivers meaningful benefits for patients and taxpayers alike.

With this new, assertive leadership, there is a sense of momentum—a belief that transformative, measurable improvements in American healthcare are not just possible, but underway.