Dr. Oz spoke of expanding Medicare Advantage plans, says JPMorgan

JPMorgan views President-elect Trump’s nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz to be Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator as a surprise pick to oversee Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act Exchanges. While there is limited information to gauge the nomination from a policy perspective, the pieces of information indicate Oz would will follow conventional Republican approach to running CMS, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm points out that in an interview with AARP in 2022 during his unsuccessful Senate campaign, Oz said: “We can expand Medicare Advantage plans. These plans are popular among seniors, consistently provide quality care and have a needed incentive to keep costs low.” JPMorgan sees this as consistent with its expectations that CMS under Republican control would support Medicare Advantage. This is favorable for companies like Humana (HUM), UnitedHealth (UNH), CVS Health (CVS) and Elevance Health (ELV), the firm contends.