This week, the Senate Finance Committee voted to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Oz, a former heart surgeon and popular television host, garnered widespread name recognition as the host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and previously worked as a professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University.
However, since leaving television back in 2022, Oz has dipped his toes into the political arena where he ran for the open Senate seat in Pennsylvania, where he was defeated by now-Sen. John Fetterman.
Oz’s confirmation now heads to the full Senate, where if confirmed the 64-year-old would oversee the nearly $1.5 trillion the federal government spends on Medicare and Medicaid.
These health insurance programs make up a large amount of the budget and have often been wielded as political collateral in bipartisan negotiations on Capitol Hill.
CMS provides health insurance for 160 million Americans who get coverage through Medicare, Medicaid and the Obamacare exchanges.
Its $1.5 trillion budget is nearly double that of the Department of Defense.
Oz told lawmakers that he will remain focused on keeping both Medicare and Medicaid strong.
“I commit to doing whatever I can, working tirelessly to ensure that CMS provides Americans with access to superb care, especially Americans who are most vulnerable: our young, our disabled, and our elderly,” Oz told the members of the Senate Finance Committee.
However, during his initial hearing, Oz clashed with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to better understand exactly what he would do as leader of the program that impacts millions of Americans.
Republican lawmakers praised Oz during his confirmation hearing.
The committee’s chairman, Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, voiced his support for Oz ahead of the vote Tuesday, saying he has “years of experience as an acclaimed physician and public health advocate.” Crapo added that the background makes Oz “uniquely qualified” for the role.
Democratic senators questioned Oz about his record of pitching non-mainstream treatments like green coffee beans and raspberry ketones for weight loss.
Democrats criticized Oz during the hearing, alleging that he had dodged taxes. The criticism added to earlier critiques among Democrats of his views toward abortion and concerns about conflicts of interests. Oz has pledged to resign from positions he holds at companies, including a drugmaker and supplement company, while divesting from healthcare companies as part of his ethics agreement.
However, Trump has said he will not cut Medicaid, but experts say the budget resolution passed by House Republicans last month will require hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts over the next decade.
Oz’s confirmation now moves to the Senate floor, where Republicans can afford to lose three votes to confirm him without support from across the aisle, with Vice President J.D. Vance serving as a tie-breaker.
Tom Scully, who led CMS under President George W. Bush, talked with the health policy news organization Tradeoffs about his take on Oz and the impact the head of this powerful health agency.
“He knows a lot about health care. He’s a very smart guy. As I told him [when we met before his confirmation hearing], he was months ahead, preparation-wise, where I was in 2001 when I took the job. And I had a lot of experience,” said Scully.
“So anything Oz needs to know, he can learn. And I think it’s just a matter of what fights he wants to pick. … Medicaid, for better or worse, is probably the one that draws the most fire. At some point, he’s got to try to explain [the administration’s position to the American people], but I’m sure he can learn the basics in about three days.”
Oz’s complete hearing can be watched below: