Don’t trust social media for wellness advice

You likely see dozens of clips each day providing wellness advice. Unfortunately, a lot of what you see on social media and TV should not be trusted. What should you do? Jude Joffe Block reports for NPR on what’s happening on social media. Reed Abelson and Susanne Craig report for the New York Times on the misleading information that Dr. Oz promotes, while benefiting financially.

Dr. Oz has promoted Medicare Advantage plans endlessly, without warning people that they could struggle getting the care they need in a Medicare Advantage plan. Insurers offering Medicare Advantage delay and deny care inappropriately and routinely, particularly costly care. They have a powerful financial incentive to do so. Every treatment they delay or deny helps maximize their profits. Like the insurers, Dr. Oz profits from promoting Medicare Advantage.

Dr. Oz also has profited to the tune of tens of millions of dollars from selling supplements, even when there is little or no scientific evidence to show any benefits from the supplements he promotes and, in some cases, people can be harmed.

Some people are trying to fight online misinformation from wellness influencers with accurate information. That’s tough. You want to be sure that whatever wellness advice you’re taking is based on science and not hokum. You can save money by not consuming products that are of no value or, worse still, harmful to your health.

Whose wellness advice should you take? You probably should not listen to anyone who makes money from providing wellness advice. Anyone profiting from providing advice has a conflict of interest, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the newly confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services.

For example, if you look at the scientific evidence, you should be getting a vaccines for Covid and a range of other conditions, even though RFK Jr. likely disagrees. Medicare covers a range of vaccines. And, for most, you have no out-of-pocket costs so long as you get them from a Medicare participating provider.

Here’s more from Just Care:

• Get the preventive care you need: Medicare pays for it
• Can RFK Jr. limit harmful chemical additives in our food supply?
• Is Mehmet Oz fit to run Medicare agency?
• Supplements can damage your liver
• Take advantage of Medicare’s annual wellness visit