Mehmet Oz goes to Washington and straight to the scorching seat.
Doctor of celebrities and a former candidate for the Senate in Pennsylvania nominated by President Donald Trump to manage Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) centers, testify before the Senators Commission on Friday.
The agency supervises the coordination and implementation of the main healthcare programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, children’s health insurance program (chip) and the Act on inexpensive care.
To sum up, CMS supervises health insurance for almost half of all Americans and a budget of around USD 1.5 trillion per year.
Oz is to face grilling from Democrats in the Senate Financial Commission, both in the matter of his personal financial resources and in his support for Medicaid, because the program cutting has become the main problem for the party After the budget resolution is supported by GOP Intends to reduce expenses.
Each nominated for the Trump’s office, who was promoted to the interrogation, was confirmed in the Senate, where Republicans have 53 seats for Democrats 47 and in the company of more controversial nominees, OZ cannot be directed at a highly questioned nomination. Despite this, Medicare and Medicaid have become key topics for Democrats, and the trial falls On the same day as the financing date of the Congress government to avoid closing.
According to real estate records, which he ran for the Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, he is still the owner of a house in Bryn Athyn. This year he won Trump’s support in the main GOP, now Senator Dave McCormick.
Trump’s loyalty to OZ was additionally emphasized on Tuesday, when the president announced that he nominated OZ, John Jovanovic, to manage the United States Export and Import Bank, the official export credit agency of the country. Jovanovic, the current director of the WILLOW GROVE Asplundh Tree Expert LLC strategy, is married to the daughter of Oz, a celebrity chef and host of Talk show, Daphne Oz.
The CMS administrator is not a position at the office level and will report to the Secretary for Health and Social Welfare Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This position is usually not a household brand, but this year it has gained special interest due to the celebrity of OZ.
Oz, a heart surgeon that graduated from Harvard and Penn, became renowned with regular medical segments as a health expert on Oprah Winfrey Show Before turning your own daytime series, Dr. Oz show. He bore this in lucrative offers of support, regular performances in the media and a star at Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Within two years since losing in the Senate with Democrat John Fetterman – the Oz race poured over $ 27 million of his own money – he was not a political radar largely, Jace for vitamins as a global ambassador of IHERB vitamin seller in social media.
Now he has returned and on his way to become a man responsible for health care for 160 million Americans.
Here are some of the questions that he will probably face.
Will Oz protect Medicaid?
Oz will not have control over whether Congress crosses Medicaid – Probable scenario, according to the review of the Congress Budget Office the latest budget resolution supported by GOP. But he would have some strength to support the program supervised by his agency and an authority in the distribution of money under the program.
As the CMS administrator, OZ would decide how the government includes medical procedures, hospital stays and medicines under Medicaid and other programs. The agency also determines the reimbursement rates of doctors and other suppliers receive for their services.
Look for democrats who repeatedly ask him about his program plans.
Fetterman, who defeated Oz in the campaign, which was sometimes brutally personal, said that he would support Oz in the role of CMS, if he was convinced that Oz wants to keep government health care.
“If Dr. Oz is about protection and behavior of Medicare and Medicaid, I vote for a guy” The senator published on X.
In Pennsylvania, Medicare covers over 2.9 million seniors and disabled residents, while Medicaid and Chip provide health care and long -term care of 3.1 million children with low income, pregnant women, adults, seniors and disabled people in this state. In total, these programs include over 38% of the state population.
Will Oz expand the advantage of Medicare?
The key democratic senators, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, sent a letter to OZ shortly after the nomination, questioning his “earlier support for the privatization of Medicare” – referring to his call in 2020 in order to introduce all seniors in private insurance plans for medicare.
“After this nomination, we write about our fears about your support in the field of traditional medicare and deep financial connections with private health insurers,” we read in the letter.
Criticism From the 2020 proposal Made by OZ and former General Director Kaiser Permanente George Halvorson in an article published in Forbes, in which they suggested saving all Americans over 65 years ancient who were not in Medicaid on the private plans of Medicare Advantage.
They marked the proposal as a way to provide universal insurance via the private sector, instead of Medicare’s extension for everyone. But democratic senators said they were worried that the approach would be subjected to seniors to grate prices.
“Private insurers who run the Medicare Advantage program, drastically overloaded for care,” wrote senators in a letter to OZ, citing analysis from the non -party advisory committee for Medicare payment.
As a candidate of the Senate in 2022, Oz continued to call for the expansion of Medicare Advantage, but he stopped calling to eliminate classic Medicare during the campaign. If this is confirmed, he would be entitled to expand the privatization of the program, something that many Republicans called. The program has gained popularity, with doubles from 2010.
His interrogation may be a place for both sides of the passage to press and against private plans.
Does Oz stand with its earlier statements regarding abortion?
Democratic meaning. Warren and Tammy Duckworth Last month he sent a second letter to Oz, expressing concern about his views on women’s reproductive rights.
In a letter referring to OZ comments during his Senate campaign in Pennsylvania, including his greatest gaffe [and] Local political leaders. ” The quote caused a lot of anti-na ads.
Warren and Duckworth also pointed to the language of the OZ campaign from the race, which described it as “100% pro-life” and his praise for the decision of the Supreme Court to overthrow REE against Wade.
CMS supervises the scope of Medicare and Medicaid regarding sexual and reproductive health services, which includes access to contraceptive services through the Act on inexpensive care, and in cases where the mother’s life is at risk, emergency care in hospitals participating in Medicare.
Will he deprive enough of financial ties?
The legislators also raised the concerns related to the financial interests of OZ in Unitedhealth, the largest private insurer in Medicare Advantage, as a conflict of interests and asked if he would sell from any financial resources related to the insurance industry, if confirmed.
The government ethics report submitted in February emphasized more resources and caused more questions. In the application, OZ promised to get rid of some companies within three months of confirmation and will refrain from participating in all matters that could affect his investments. The Non -Party Bureau of Government Ethics has signed a contract.
The net value of OZ, in accordance with ethical documents, which reveal the ranges, not the exact amounts of the dollar, is between $ 98 million and $ 332 million.
His The portfolio includes shares in Apple and Walmart, as well as other investments more directly related to the healthcare industry. The notification showed that in the amount of up to $ 5 million in the field of fertility, companies with a network of fertility clinics; maximum $ 100,000 with ABBVIE pharmaceutical giant; and as much as USD 600,000 with the largest health insurer in the country, Unitedhealth Group.
Oz also has up to $ 5 million in Nvidia, an artificial intelligence company that works in hospitals.
His greatest income was recently a global ambassador and adviser to Iherb, a website that sells health and beauty supplements, a partnership that brought him as much as $ 25 million in shares in the company. He said in the notification that he would lose “as soon as possible, but not later than 90 days after confirmation.”
IN Finance survey OZ, The New York Times He noticed that as part of private Medicare plans, customers can buy without a prescription medicines and supplements using debit or pre -paid cards, “another potential conflict for Dr. Oz due to his history with IHERB and other supplement companies”, wrote the authors.
