Mehmet Oz, MD, President Donald Trump’s nominee for CMS administrator, was questioned by the Senate Finance Committee on March 14. The committee will now vote on whether to advance his nomination to the full Senate.
Here are seven takeaways on the hearing:
1. Questions at the hearing centered around potential cuts to Medicaid in the wake of a Feb. 25 budget resolution approved by House Republicans that aims to cut $880 from the Energy and Commerce Committee from 2025 to 2034.
2. The resolution does not detail exactly how the committee must cut costs, but Medicare and Medicaid are the largest programs under the committee’s oversight. A March 5 Congressional Budget Office report said the only way to reach the $880 billion saving goal over the next decade would be through Medicaid or cuts to the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
3. Dr. Oz did not directly confirm his position on the potential cuts or directly answer questions about them. Instead, he stressed his commitment to the American people.
“I commit to doing whatever I can, working tirelessly to ensure that CMS provides Americans with superb care,” Dr. Oz said during the hearing. “Especially Americans who are most vulnerable. Our young, our disabled and our elderly.”
4. Dr. Oz discussed Medicare Advantage during the hearing, a program he has been a vocal proponent of expanding to all Americans. However, with 55% of Medicare beneficiaries being covered by Medicare Advantage, the program has sparked controversy over hurdles like slow payment processes and prior authorization denials.
Dr. Oz expressed concerns about Medicare Advantage sales and brokers encouraging seniors to switch to Medicare Advantage policies for financial gain. He suggested multi-year enrollment options, as opposed to annual required reelection, which could help cut broker-driven costs.
5. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., questioned Dr. Oz about what he would do to prevent the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency from accessing patient’s personal information, if confirmed.
DOGE was created in late January with a goal to uncover billions in wasted taxpayer dollars, but has faced backlash and lawsuits from several state attorneys general that claimed Mr. Musk and DOGE have accessed sensitive data, caused disruption to federal employees, state and local governments and Americans, and has disrupted federal agencies.
Dr. Oz said, like Mr. Wyden, he has not been involved with or spoken to anyone in the Trump administration about DOGE.
“I intend to spend my first precious few weeks in the agency, if confirmed, speaking to the staff, raising morale, getting people excited and addressing what’s going on with DOGE,” he said.
6. Dr. Oz outlined three key priorities, if confirmed as CMS administrator, which included incentivizing clinicians to optimize care using real-time information and workflow integration.
“Artificial intelligence, I believe, can help,” he said. “It can liberate doctors and nurses from all the paperwork, which, by the way, is as much time they spend on paperwork as taking care of patients.”
7. No mention was made during the hearing of Dr. Oz’s plan to divest from several healthcare companies, including Abbvie, Eli Lilly, UnitedHealth Group, and Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, if confirmed as CMS administrator.
In late February, Dr. Oz submitted a filing with the Office of Government Ethics that he would resign from advisory positions at companies like Sandbox AQ, a technology company, and iHerb, a nutritional supplement firm. He also committed to divesting stakes in Apple, Amazon and Walmart within 90 days of being confirmed.
The post Dr. Oz’s confirmation hearing: Medicaid cuts, 6 other notes appeared first on Becker’s ASC.
