Oz Confirmation Hearing Probes Vision for Medicaid but Coalesces Around Well-Being

In a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on his nomination to serve as administrator of CMS, Mehmet Oz, MD, faced questions on the looming potential of cuts to Medicaid but mainly emphasized the role of nutrition and lifestyle in improving the health of Americans. He described his vision of CMS as one that would leverage technology to streamline the complex American health care system.

Oz, a heart surgeon who received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a joint MD and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton School of Business before specializing in cardiology, is well known to Americans from “The Dr Oz Show” and then an unsuccessful run for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat in 2022.¹ Supporters tout his credentials in pioneering cardiology interventions and alignment with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, while critics point to his endorsements of unproven supplements on his TV show as proof of a non–evidence-based approach to medical advice.

With Oz all but certain to be confirmed to lead CMS, his answers revealed his hopes for instigating a culture shift at the agency and beyond. | Image Credit: © Timon - stock.adobe.com

During the Friday hearing, Oz, who is poised to lead the world’s largest health insurer in CMS, steered conversations to topics where there is bipartisan agreement: America’s health care system results in astronomical expenditures for outcomes that aren’t comparable to other wealthy nations, with life expectancy in the US lagging far behind its counterparts. His “painful truths,” just like those a doctor must deliver to patients, are that health spending is outpacing the economy, the Medicare trust fund is heading for insolvency, and chronic disease is costing the country too much in terms of dollars and health, Oz said in his opening statement. He vowed to work to ensure access to superb care, particularly for young, disabled, older, or otherwise vulnerable Americans, because “the most expensive care we give is bad care.”

Oz’s recipe for improving this broken system included empowering beneficiaries with tools and transparency to navigate health and the care system, incentivizing health care providers to optimize care with real-time data, and aggressively modernizing tools to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse. In response to a question about how to integrate nutrition and lifestyle into the purview of CMS, Oz suggested providing support and resources to give feedback to individuals who are concerned about their well-being and reimbursing healthy lifestyle interventions in hopes of making them an active participant in their own health and an expert on their well-being.

Senators raised concerns about the current payment system, including the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Oz concurred that PBM reform is needed to enforce complete transparency and reduce the cost of medications to the government and patients. He also suggested using technology to automate bureaucratic processes that would save money and mentioned the potential of artificial intelligence to support clinicians and patients in their pursuit of well-being. Technology could also be used to streamline reporting for Medicaid work requirements, which Oz supported but said should not be used to block deserving families from getting coverage.

While these proposals did not encounter pushback, Democratic senators on the committee did repeatedly probe the nominee about his vision for Medicaid, particularly amid budget legislation in the House of Representatives that would cut about $880 billion from the House Energy and Commerce Committee—which oversees health care spending in programs such as Medicaid—over the next decade.² Pressed by Sen Ron Wyden (D, Oregon) for a promise that he would oppose Medicaid cuts, Oz declined to answer yes or no but said that Medicaid must be protected by making it viable. When questioned later on the budget plan, Oz said he was not completely familiar with the details but vowed that he did not want children or pregnant mothers losing their health coverage.

Instead, Oz’s answers focused on making Medicaid more sustainable by eliminating fraud and improper payments. Alleged sources of this fraud differed by the senator asking the question: Sen Catherine Cortez Masto (D, Nevada) blamed provider fraud, while Sen Marsha Blackburn (R, Tennessee) blamed illegal use of resources by migrants.

Medicare Advantage was brought up throughout the confirmation hearing, including mention by Wyden of Oz’s past proposal to transfer all older adults to Medicare Advantage.³ Bipartisan questions also touched on upcoding and overuse of prior authorization in the Medicaid Advantage program, which Oz pledged to address.

With Oz all but certain to be confirmed to lead CMS, his answers also revealed his hopes for instigating a culture shift at the agency so employees and taxpayers alike can build trust in its operations and efficiency. “Our biggest enemy is nihilism; there’s a lack of hope that we can fix what’s going on at CMS,” Oz said. “I am very confident and I do believe that we have a generational opportunity to seismically shift the way we deliver health care services so that we don’t have the highest mortality rate for women delivering babies among the top 50 countries in the world, that we’re not having folks falling through the cracks wrongly and immorally in our system.”

References

1. Jeremias S, McCormick B. Trump selects Dr Oz as CMS administrator. AJMC^®. November 19, 2024. Accessed March 14, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/trump-selects-dr-oz-as-cms-administrator
2. Klein HE. House passes budget resolution cutting billions from Medicaid funding. AJMC. February 25, 2025. Accessed March 14, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/house-passes-budget-resolution-cutting-billions-from-medicaid-funding
3. Grossi G. Dr Oz's Medicare proposals face scrutiny from Democrats. AJMC. December 11, 2024. Accessed March 14, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/dr-oz-s-medicare-proposals-face-scrutiny-from-democrats