Democracy Dies in Darkness

Dr. Oz took over Medicare. It hasn’t been the disaster his critics feared.

Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, demonstrates yoga stretches for a video for Medicare enrollees in a studio at the CMS headquarters. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post)

The former TV doctor running the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Washington’s wonky health agency, has garnered positive reviews — even from some Democrats.

14 min

BALTIMORE — Dr. Oz, mouthful of quinoa, paused mid-bite.

He motioned a nearby videographer to a spot behind the tent where he and celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian sat tasting entries in a staff cooking competition. It was a better angle to capture dozens of employees watching them in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services headquarters parking lot that August day.

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