CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, has moved quickly to advance President Donald Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda in 2025. The push comes after President Trump this summer signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping package of reforms targeting Medicaid, Medicare and the ACA marketplace. [Becker's Hospital Review]

From plans to close a Medicaid funding “loophole” to probing hospitals over gender care for minors and clamping down on states using federal Medicaid funds to treat undocumented migrants, here are 20 key actions CMS has taken since Dr. Oz was confirmed as administrator:

Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article originally printed in July 2025. This is not an exhaustive list.

1. CMS plans to add prior authorization for some traditional fee-for-service Medicare services as part of its newly launched Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction model. The agency said it will work with companies specializing in AI and machine learning to test ways to improve and expedite prior authorization for services including epidural steroid injections, cervical fusion, arthroscopy for knee osteoarthritis and skin and tissue substitutes. The news came one week after the wider insurance industry announced reforms that aim to reduce and streamline prior authorization processes across commercial, Medicare Advantage and managed Medicaid plans.

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