- The chamber voted Thursday 53 to 45 along party lines to confirm Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- Oz, who has touted controversial therapies and pushed unproven theories about Covid-19 cures including hydroxychloroquine, will make and implement major decisions impacting the insurance coverage of more than 160 million people.
Senate confirms Dr. Oz to lead Medicare and Medicaid
He will oversee how physicians are paid through Medicare.
He will have oversight over how physicians are paid through Medicare, which often sets a standard commercial insurers follow, and he will oversee more than $1.5 trillion in federal spending across Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges.
Oz will have to navigate complex regulatory issues with fewer staff than his predecessors due to a massive reorganization launched by HHS on Tuesday that saw 10,000 people lose their jobs.
It remains unclear how many people are affected within CMS. Originally the agency announced 300 people were fired but the impact will be felt across numerous government programs. For instance, HHS cut staff at the Office of Minority Health and closed five regional offices that assisted states and community groups with Medicare issues.
Oz hosted a popular daytime television show from 2009 through 2022, when he left to run for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat.
- He lost that race to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
- Oz discussed wellness issues on the show and landed in hot water more than a decade ago for promoting misleading treatments, leading to a contentious hearing back in 2014 before a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee.
- Now that he is confirmed, Oz will be the administration’s front man on key issues such as Medicaid reform.
- House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee are seeking $880 billion in savings for a larger spending package, and some lawmakers have their sights set on Medicaid, which they believe is bloated and rife with waste and abuse.
