Mehmet Oz, M.D., is one step closer to earning the title of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator after the Senate Finance Committee voted on party lines to advance his nomination.
The committee voted 14-13 in favor, with all 14 Republicans voting in favor and 13 Democrats siding in opposition. The full Senate will now vote on his nomination.
He is expected to win the nomination, though Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, has said he is skeptical over Oz’s record on abortion and trans rights. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, was the sole vote against during last month's confirmation of Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“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,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, in a statement following the vote.
In a session before the committee Tuesday morning, Chair Mike Crapo of Idaho outlined his support for the nominee in an opening statement.
“Dr. Oz has years of experience as an acclaimed physician and public health advocate,” he said. “His background makes him uniquely qualified to manage the intricacies of CMS. I was also encouraged to hear that he will focus on modernizing federal health care programs, work to fix our broken clinician payment system and will partner with Congress to achieve pharmaceutical benefit manager (PBM) reform.”
Democratic members noted they were pleased Oz seemed willing to tackle PBM reform, but all opted against supporting Oz. Overwhelmingly, Dems slammed Oz’s unwillingness to criticize proposed Medicaid cuts going through Congress.
“He failed the test,” said Ron Wyden of Oregon, adding Oz did not publicly back a Biden-era nursing home rule that would require stricter staffing standards. “He also failed to provide factual responses to our written questions submitted after the hearing.”
Republican Roger Marshall of Kansas said the Democrats' framing on Medicaid is all wrong and that the new administration will protect Medicaid by changing the program to ensure there is less fraud and waste.
“I think you would also agree with me that what we're spending on Medicaid now looks like a rocket ship,” he said. “We want to make sure that Medicaid dollars are spent on the most vulnerable of people, the ones that really, really need it.”
Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, said Oz appears to be more qualified and prepared for his position than RFK Jr. was, but he doesn’t trust Oz will prioritize access to healthcare. Others said they simply do not trust Oz or the new administration.
“Dr. Oz has shown a dangerous willingness to say or do anything that President Trump directs him to do, and, during his hearing, Dr. Oz refused to commit to following the law in the event that President Trump directs him to do something illegal,” Maggie Hassan, D-Massachusetts, said. “ That failure to commit is disqualifying.”
Oz faced tough questions over conflicts of interest, Medicaid and other issues during his nomination hearing March 14, but he largely batted them away and managed to charm members on both sides of the aisle. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, reiterated his desire to work with Oz to correct issues with accountable care organizations in his state, saying the CMS has previously acted with a “massive abundance of stupidity."
Marshall offered an olive branch to Dems at the hearing Tuesday, saying there could be bipartisan agreement on reforming Medicare Advantage (MA).
“Like Dr. Oz, I thought Medicare Advantage was a good thing when it came out, but unfortunately, it's been manipulated,” he said. “And I think similar situations are happening with Medicaid managed care systems as well.”
A report (PDF) from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission estimated MA plans are overpaid by $83 billion in annual spending than if those enrollees were in traditional Medicare plans. Oz showed willingness to crack down on MA during his confirmation hearing, despite past remarks praising the program.