Atlantic publishes full Signal chat, proving Hegseth lied about sharing war plans

Atlantic publishes full Signal chat, proving Hegseth lied about sharing war plans.

What Dr. Oz’s plan to privatize Medicare means for seniors.

Since the Atlantic published a partial account of a Signal chat among senior Trump officials on Monday, both Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz have received increasing criticism and scrutiny. Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg asserted in his initial publication that Pentagon chief Hegseth had shared detailed war plans for a planned strike on Yemen, which later took place on March 15. Hegseth denied having shared war plans on the chat and publicly attacked Goldberg’s credibility.

Today, Goldberg called Hegseth’s bluff by publishing the full chat, with Hegseth’s detailed war plans included. In this unsecured chat, Hegseth shared a minute-by-minute plan of which armaments would be deployed, where they would be deployed, who the targets were, and other highly sensitive information. Hegseth has claimed that the information he shared was not classified, while national security sources says they were, in fact, classified.

All of this came to light because NSA chief Waltz inadvertently added Goldberg to this group chat. Unlike Hegseth, Waltz has owned up to his mistake and said that he “probably won’t” use Signal again for such sensitive conversations. President Trump has publicly defended Waltz despite widespread calls for his resignation. However, this does not mean that Waltz is now out of the political hot seat.

Questions have been raised as to why Waltz had Goldberg’s number in his phone in the first place, leading to speculation as to whether he has leaked information to Goldberg. While Waltz is right-wing and Goldberg is more liberal, they share hawkish neoconservative views which have clashed with some in the Trump administration who are skeptical of involving the US in foreign conflicts.

Goldberg did nothing to diminish the speculation today when he refused to comment on his relationship with Waltz after photos surfaced of the two of them together at a function in 2021.

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What Dr. Oz’s plan to privatize Medicare means for seniors

Dr. Oz, a thoracic surgeon and media personality popularized by his appearances on the Oprah Winfrey show, is now just a few steps away from being confirmed as the next head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He is very likely to be confirmed by the Senate this week.

After Trump named Oz as his nominee to lead CMS, Oz spoke openly about his plans to advance an agenda that he calls Medicare Advantage for All. Medicare Advantage plans are administered by private health insurance companies, including United Healthcare, receiving federal Medicare funds to administer care to seniors on behalf of the government. Medicare Advantage plans are often advertised as offering attractive perks to seniors, including dental care, gym memberships, grocery deliveries, and other enticements.

However, since Medicare Advantage plans are administered for profit, this means that private companies earn more money by taking federal funds by denying care to seniors when they need it most. This often includes denying them life-saving care, such as costly cancer treatments. Once a person is enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, it can be very difficult to get out of it and re-enroll in normal Medicare.

How Oz can further privatize Medicare

Dr. Oz has long used his platform to promote Medicare Advantage plans to a wide audience and currently owns about $600,000 in United Healthcare stock. He will, of course, have to sell his stock before taking his post at CMS. However, he remains committed to pushing Medicare Advantage plans for unsuspecting seniors.

When Oz takes office, there will be very little to stop him from advancing this agenda. The Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) created an office within the CMS called the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). The CMMI evaluates private pilot programs for Medicare to determine if they are in fact providing a high standard of care at lower cost. If the pilot programs are deemed “successful”, CMMI can then approve their expansion. This power means that Dr. Oz will be able to rubber stamp even poorly performing programs – without Congressional oversight.

Medicare Advantage plans already receive the majority of Medicare funding. Once a tipping point is reached where Medicare is offering only a sliver of overall senior care in the United States, the plan will no longer have the economies of scale that make it sustainable. This could potentially bring an end to one of the most popular federal programs which seniors have relied on for decades.

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