The Senate confirmed Thursday that celebrity TV doctor Dr. Mehmet Oz, 53-45, and led Medicare and Medicaid along the party line, which ensured almost half of all Americans.
The future of both programs is the subject of fierce debate: Republicans are considering a significant cut in Medicaid, which provides health care for low-income Americans. The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have proposed a substantial reduction in Medicaid spending, partly in order to pay President Trump’s taxes.
Dr. Oz, 64, has been a supporter of Medicare Advantage, a private insurance plan for older Americans, for years, despite federal inquiries and lawmakers fears insurers exceeding billions of dollars in the government each year. He promoted it on TV shows and worked as a broker to a company that sold the program.
He appeared to acknowledge the Medicare Advantage problem during a confirmation hearing from the Senate Finance Committee last month and tried to assure the senators that there was a “new sheriff” in the town.
The committee’s Democrats detailed the potential drastic cuts in Medicaid, which could lead to a large number of people eligible for health coverage.
In recent days, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The cuts will also affect Dr. Oz's agency, namely Medicare and Medicaid Service Center, with a budget of about $1.5 trillion. Still, Dr. Oz provides some clues for any changes he planned.
Dr. Oz received enough votes to confirm the ability to surface until recently. Then, earlier this week, Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said he decided to support the nomination because Dr. Oz told him that he would no longer support trans care for minors and was a “clear biological life.” Mr. Hawley publicly stated that he was retaining support for Dr. Oz's previous position on these issues.
The senator largely avoided criticism of Dr. Oz's wide and often vague financial ties to the companies he will oversee in his new position.
He and his wife are very rich. All in all, his business and family joint ventures are worth around $90 million to $335 million.
To avoid conflict, he announced in February that he would sell his interests in more than 70 companies and investment funds.
Over the years, he has made tens of millions of dollars, selling dietary supplements on TV shows and promoting health-related companies.
He said the investments he planned to sell include stakes in UnitedHealth Group, the country's largest provider of private health insurance plans; Inception Fertility Holdings is a private company that runs a range of clinics; Amazon has a broad range, now including online pharmacies, and sells countless medical devices and equipment.
In addition, he promised to quit various paid consulting jobs.
Nevertheless, the breadth of his financial ties to numerous health-related companies has prompted lawmakers and ethical experts to doubt their ability to be independent.
