Oz wasn’t seen as controversial as some of the White House’s other health picks, but Democrats said they didn’t believe he would push back against any GOP-proposed cuts to Medicaid.
Still, he skated through his confirmation hearing, using the flair of a seasoned television host to avoid being pinned down on specifics.
Oz dodged questions in his confirmation hearing about any proposed cuts to the program, but Republicans will need to make a choice about whether to cut Medicaid in order to pay for an extension of President Trump’s tax cuts.
Oz has a history of endorsing dubious and often controversial products and treatments, blurring the lines between celebrity pitchman and medical doctor. Critics said his show provided a platform for fringe claims not backed by evidence.
The Trump nominee now takes the helm of an agency that is essentially the federal government’s insurance provider.
It has a budget of more than $1 trillion and sets payments rates for doctors, hospitals and insurers, while also overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act — programs that provide coverage for more than 150 million people.
The massive amount of spending CMS oversees will likely make it a target for cuts to government spending. Thousands of people this week were laid off from the Department of Health and Human Services as part of a cost-cutting and reorganization effort led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but CMS was largely spared.
In line with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement led by Kennedy, Oz has said he will focus on preventive care and chronic disease. He told lawmakers the U.S. should be “rethinking our outdated approach” to treating the symptoms of a disease rather than the underlying cause.
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