Oz Warns Medicare for All Could Cost $47 Trillion

CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz cited a Council of Economic Advisers estimate as he argued against the single-payer proposal.

Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Healthcare

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a stately government building facade with a columned entrance and a single flag under a pale sky, in navy, cream, and muted red. — CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz warned Medicare for All could cost $47 trillion over a decade, while a budget analyst put the government cost between $20 trillion and $40 trillion. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, warned that Medicare for All could cost $47 trillion over the next decade, citing a Council of Economic Advisers estimate. Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated the government cost at $20 trillion to $40 trillion over the same period.

Why it matters

Oz argued the proposal could create a two-tier healthcare system and restrict access to doctors and lifesaving medications across the United States. The debate centers on how the program would be financed, with the funding gap over 10 years estimated at roughly $25 trillion.

The most aggressive Democratic tax proposals could raise about half the required amount, leaving a funding gap of roughly $25 trillion over 10 years. Goldwein's $20 trillion to $40 trillion range reflects a wide spread that the source does not reconcile with Oz's $47 trillion figure.

The players

Mehmet Oz

Mehmet Oz is Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency that runs Medicare.

Marc Goldwein

Marc Goldwein is senior vice president and senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal policy group.

The details

Oz spoke on Fox News' America Reports, saying Americans pay three times more than other countries for the same drugs. He also said Medicare was established 60 years ago for people aged 65 and older, and that the Medicare trust fund has six, maybe seven years remaining.

April 2025: President Trump issued an executive order to advance seniors' access to psychedelics such as ibogaine.
This year (2026): The administration plans to remove $50 billion in Medicare fraud.

Roadmap

Oz's warning ties the single-payer debate to Medicare's own finances, where the trust fund has six, maybe seven years remaining. Extending coverage beyond the age-65 framework that Medicare has used for 60 years would require financing on a scale the existing program was not built to carry.

Oz said Americans pay three times more than other countries for the same drugs, and the administration is working to lower medication costs through Most Favored Nation pricing. Codifying that pricing policy would guarantee $600 billion in taxpayer savings, according to the source.

The takeaway

Projected shortfalls could mean less access to treatment, reduced medical innovation and higher out-of-pocket costs for patients, so the financing question is central to any coverage proposal.