Dr. Mehmet Oz faced intense questioning during his Senate confirmation hearing Friday, outlining his vision for transforming American healthcare if confirmed as the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Healthcare Fraud Fighter
The former heart surgeon and TV personality promised senators he would aggressively combat healthcare fraud and implement strategies to improve Americans’ health outcomes. Oz emphasized that tackling fraud within the trillion-dollar Medicare and Medicaid programs would be a top priority, particularly targeting insurers that bill for diagnoses that never lead to treatment.
“We have a generational opportunity to fix our healthcare system and help people stay healthy for longer,” Oz told the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee during his more than two-hour testimony.
Technology-Driven Solutions
Oz, 64, highlighted artificial intelligence and telemedicine as critical technologies that could make healthcare more efficient and accessible, especially in underserved rural areas facing hospital closures.
“We have to revisit how we deliver rural care in America,” he stated. “We can’t depend on 100-bed hospitals that do one delivery a day to provide state-of-the-art care.”
The nominee suggested that rural hospitals could form partnerships with larger institutions in nearby cities to maintain quality care access, though he avoided directly answering whether he would oppose Medicaid cuts that might force rural hospital closures.
Preventive Health Champion
A significant portion of Oz’s testimony focused on preventive health measures. He argued that a healthier population would reduce costly chronic diseases, calling maintaining good health a “patriotic duty.”
“We don’t have to order people to eat healthy, we have to make it easier for people to be healthy,” Oz explained, noting that Medicare Advantage plans provide food allowances but little nutritional guidance on using them effectively.
Medicare Advantage Reforms
Oz called for limits on insurer pre-approval requirements in Medicare Advantage plans, describing prior authorization as “a pox on the system” that unnecessarily increases administrative costs.
If confirmed, Oz would oversee health insurance for approximately 150 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, or Affordable Care Act coverage, wielding significant influence over the U.S. healthcare industry through coverage decisions.
Medicaid Stance Questioned
Democrats repeatedly attempted to get Oz to state whether he would oppose potential Republican cuts to Medicaid. While he acknowledged that doctors often dislike the program due to low reimbursement rates, he avoided making firm commitments.
Oz did express support for Medicaid work requirements but emphasized that excessive paperwork shouldn’t prevent eligible individuals from maintaining coverage. He noted that expanding Medicaid eligibility without improving provider resources had limited care options for core beneficiaries like children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities.
“We have to make some important decisions to improve the quality of care,” he concluded.
Trump’s Health Leadership Team
Oz’s hearing comes as the Trump administration works to finalize leadership appointments across major health agencies. Senate committees recently advanced nominations for Marty Makary to lead the FDA and Jay Bhattacharya to head the NIH, while Dave Weldon’s CDC nomination was withdrawn.
These nominees align with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, which aims to transform the food supply, oppose vaccine mandates, and question certain established scientific research.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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