Dr. Oz slammed after saying goal of health care system is to boost GDP by 'trillions'

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said the ultimate goal of the American health care system is to help increase the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by “trillions” of dollars.

The United States is the only high-income nation in the developed world without any form of universal health care.

The CMS Administrator’s remarks come just as millions of Americans are anxiously waiting to see by how much their health insurance premiums will rise next year. Many are expected to at least double without the Affordable Care Act subsidies that will expire at the end of this year unless Congress and the President act.

“What the health care system should do is not just pay the bills,” Oz told Fox Business‘ Maria Bartiromo Friday morning.

“We should make you so healthy that you flourish in life, and you would engage the workplace.”

“Getting America back to work, full speed, getting you to work longer if you desire, that builds trillions of dollars of value to the GDP,” Oz added.

“That’s the goal of the health system,” he said.

Bartiromo agreed, saying, “Absolutely.”

Pediatrician and public health expert Dr. Annie Andrews, who is running for the U.S. Senate from South Carolina, responded sarcastically: “Ahh yes I’ll never forget the moment I decided to pursue a career in medicine so that I could keep Americans in the workforce and boost the GDP.”

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery and a CNN medical analyst, expressed disagreement with Oz: “The goal of the health system is not to build trillions of dollars for the GDP.”