Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV celebrity doctor, is expected to face a tense confirmation hearing on Friday, with Democratic senators planning to question how he would oversee Medicare and Medicaid now that Republicans and the Trump administration are weighing significant changes affecting millions of Americans.
Among the possible plans being considered by Republican lawmakers and President Trump are severe reductions to health insurance coverage for low-income people and a greater shift toward private plans for older Americans.
Dr. Oz, 64, a cardiothoracic surgeon who rose to fame through his successful daytime show, appears poised to secure confirmation by the full Senate.
His confirmation hearing is among the last of the Trump nominees whose agencies fall under the jurisdiction of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary. It immediately follows Mr. Trump’s decision on Thursday to withdraw the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Weldon’s long-held views against certain vaccines weakened his chances for confirmation.
Given that older Americans are advised to receive certain vaccines because they are among the most vulnerable for illnesses like Covid, the flu and pneumonia, it’s possible that Dr. Oz’s positions on immunization will also be of interest to the Senate panel reviewing his qualifications.
In addition, some of the Senate Finance Committee members are likely to grill Dr. Oz about his myriad financial ties, many of which would pose troubling conflicts of interest if he were to lead the agency.
He has made tens of millions of dollars pitching dietary supplements and other products on television and social media, and many of the companies he has connections to could benefit from his confirmation.
In an attempt to mitigate some of his conflicts, in February he announced that, if confirmed, he would sell his interest in more than 70 companies and investment funds, including UnitedHealth Group, HCA Healthcare and Amazon, which now has significant health care ventures. His business and family holdings are valued in the neighborhood of roughly $90-million to $335 million, according to a recent regulatory filing.
Senate Democrats are expected to home in on Dr. Oz’s vocal support of the controversial private insurance plans for older Americans known as Medicare Advantage. The insurers operating these plans have come under intense criticism, accused of overcharging the government and denying patients necessary care. Dr. Oz has also had close ties to companies selling the plans, many of which have also been accused of overly aggressive marketing tactics.
As administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Oz would determine just how closely the agency would monitor the Medicare Advantage industry. He could also encourage people to enroll in private plans instead of the traditional government-run program. Medicare now covers roughly 68 million people, with slightly more than half now receiving insurance through Medicare Advantage plans. Nearly seven million of those on Medicare are under 65.
Little is known about Dr. Oz’s views on Medicaid, the vast state-federal program that provides coverage to 72 million low-income and disabled Americans, some of whom are also on Medicare. Republicans in Congress are eyeing the program to potentially find as much as $880 billion in cuts, which could result in far fewer people being eligible for health coverage and affect how much individual states must contribute.
Senate Democrats also want answers about his recent income tax filings, focusing on whether he paid the required amount for Medicare taxes, according to a memo from committee staff reviewed by The New York Times.
“The Office of Government Ethics has conducted an extensive review of Dr. Oz’s finances as part of the regular vetting process,” Christopher Krepich, his spokesman, said.
The ethics office informed the Senate that “any potential conflicts have been resolved and he is in compliance with the law,” Mr. Krepich added.
But Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat from Massachusetts, sent a 28-page letter to Dr. Oz on Thursday, pointedly demanding that he provide answers about his positions and potential conflicts.
“The agency deserves a leader that is willing to put the interests of patients, providers and taxpayers first — not an individual that seeks to privatize those programs and has spent much of his career profiting from entities that are squeezing every last health care dollar out of patients and taxpayers,” she said.
