Oz moves closer to confirmation as Medicare, Medicaid chief

Mehmet Oz is a step closer to being confirmed as the next head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, after the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday advanced his nomination.

The vote was 14-13 along party lines.

Democrats slammed Oz for not committing to stop potential GOP cuts to Medicaid, as well as his previous support for Medicare Advantage plans and privatizing Medicare.

“Dr. Oz’s plans to privatize Medicare would deliver worse care to 66 million Americans and waste billions of taxpayer dollars – all while giving giant insurance companies a fat paycheck. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are already gutting Social Security. The Trump administration does not care about America’s seniors," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in a statement following the vote.

But Republicans backed the nominee as someone able to make what they see as necessary reforms.

"There is no doubt that Dr. Oz will work tirelessly to deliver much needed change at CMS," Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said on Tuesday ahead of the vote. “He will focus on modernizing federal healthcare programs, work to fix our broken clinician payment system and will partner with Congress to achieve pharmaceutical benefit manager reform."

During his confirmation hearing, the heart-surgeon-turned-celebrity-physician used the flair of a seasoned television host to avoid being pinned down on specifics on how he would run the $1.7 trillion agency.

Oz dodged many specific questions and instead spoke in generalities about how he wants to make Americans healthier and improve the efficiency of the health system.

Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said Oz's refusal to answer direct questions was a problem.

"During his confirmation hearing, Dr. Oz was given the chance to assure the American people that he would not be a rubber stamp for Republicans’ plans to gut Medicaid and hike ACA premiums. At every turn, he failed the test. When I asked him a yes or no question about whether he would protect Medicaid, he dodged and weaved and refused to answer," Wyden said Tuesday.

"This lack of responsiveness to Congress should be unacceptable to every member of this Committee. But the Republican majority once again seems eager to disregard their own congressional oversight responsibility when Trump is calling the shots."

Oz has faced questions from Democrats and ethics experts about his potential conflicts of interest, including significant investments in and deep ties to health companies that receive payments from CMS. He has pledged to divest hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of stock in health companies if he is confirmed, including UnitedHealth Group

Ahead of the hearing, Democrats also noted how little experience Oz has in the federal government, or knowledge about the intricacies of health policy.

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