Mehmet Oz Confirmed to Lead CMS

Mehmet Oz, M.D., was confirmed on April 3 to become Administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS). As The Hill’s Joseph Choi reported late on Thursday afternoon, “The Senate has confirmed Mehmet Oz as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), making him the head of Medicaid at a time where its funding is at risk of being severely cut. The Senate voted 53-45 along party lines to confirm Oz.”

Choi noted that “The heart-surgeon-turned-celebrity-physician faced intense questioning by Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee. Oz often dodged providing specific answers, providing generalities. The former Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate notably did not say whether he supported potential GOP cuts to Medicaid. CMS provides coverage for 68 million people on Medicare and 79 million people on Medicaid. Much of what Oz said aligned with the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In his previous career as a television host, Oz garnered criticism for endorsing false or misleading medical claims. In 2018, he agreed to a $5.25 million settlement over a lawsuit in which he was accused of exaggerating the benefits of weight loss supplements,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the New York Times’s Reed Abelson and Susanne Craig wrote late on Thursday that “The Senate on Thursday confirmed Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity TV doctor, 53-45 and along party lines to lead Medicare and Medicaid, which insure nearly half of all Americans. The future of both programs is the subject of fierce debate: Republicans are contemplating significant cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income Americans. The Trump administration and G.O.P. lawmakers have proposed sizable reductions in Medicaid spending in part to find savings to pay for President Trump’s tax-cut package.”

To read the full article, see "BREAKING: Mehmet Oz Confirmed to Lead CMS," which originally appeared on Healthcare Innovation, an Endeavor Business Media partner site.