Dr. Mehmet Oz faced tough questions from Democrats Friday at a Senate confirmation hearing for a top government post overseeing the Medicaid and Medicare health programs.
The TV doctor and failed Senate candidate insisted he “cherishes” the sprawling programs that serve 150 million people but refused to say if he would go along with the draconian cuts to the plans being eyed by President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
Oz said that as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services he hopes to rein in the excessive cost of health care for both Americans who need medical care and the taxpayer.
“The most expensive care we give is bad care. You pay to do the wrong thing,” he said. “We have a generational opportunity to fix our health care system and help people stay healthy for longer.”
He dodged questions about the cuts that Republicans need to make to fund Trump’s huge tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations.
“The way you protect Medicaid is by making sure that it’s viable at every level,” Oz responded to a question from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).
Oz, a 64-year-old son of Turkish immigrants, was a respected heart surgeon who rebranded himself as a popular TV host after winning wide popularity on Oprah Winfrey’s show.
He mounted a bid for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania but lost to Democratic Sen. John Fetterman.
Now he has his sights on overseeing health insurance for about 150 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, which covers the elderly; Medicaid for poor and disabled people; children’s health insurance; or Affordable Care Act coverage.
Despite sharp questions, he is considered likely to win confirmation by the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 edge.
Oz portrays himself as a strong supporter of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his pro-Trump Make America Healthy Again. Kennedy has spent years railing against the food production industry and Big Pharma as well as questioning the safety of life-saving vaccines.
Despite Oz’s respected medical record, he’s never led any large organization, raising questions about whether he’s the right person for the job especially as Trump and Musk declare war on supposed “waste, fraud and abuse” in the programs that are a cornerstone of the social safety net.
Democrats have also raised questions about Oz’s use of a loophole to underpay his own taxes by thousands of dollars on Medicare, the program he’ll oversee.
He’s also made comments on his TV show supporting privatizing Medicare, which many recipients of the insurance program for elderly Americans fear would lead to benefit cuts.
Oz has hawked everything from supplements to private health insurance plans on his former TV series, “The Dr. Oz Show,” which ran for 13 seasons and helped him amass a fortune. He’s worth betwen $100 and $315 million and own millions of stock in health insurance, fertility, pharmaceutical and vitamin companies. He has promised to divest from dozens of companies that would pose conflicts for him as the CMS administrator.
The new post would give Oz significant power over most health companies operating in the U.S. because he can make decisions about who and what are covered by federal insurance coverage.