MW Dr. Oz dodges questions on Medicaid cuts during his confirmation hearing

By Jessica Hall

President Trump's nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services faced questions from the Senate Finance Committee on Friday

Television personality Mehmet Oz didn't directly answer questions from U.S. senators Friday on whether he would oppose cuts to Medicaid if he were confirmed as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - saying instead that "I cherish Medicaid."

CMS - the federal agency in charge of a $1.5 trillion budget and the health-insurance coverage for more than 155 million Americans - oversees Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Health Insurance Marketplace. The agency has about 6,500 employees.

Oz declined to provide a yes-or-no answer to a direct question from Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, on whether he would agree to oppose cuts to Medicaid.

"The way you protect Medicaid is by making sure it is viable on every level," Oz said.

The House of Representatives last month approved a budget resolution to find $880 billion in savings over 10 years, which could put Medicaid in the crosshairs for cuts.

In similar questions and comments on Medicaid from Democratic Sens. Michael Bennett of Colorado and Maria Cantwell of Washington, Oz also deflected on whether he would oppose Medicaid cuts and said instead that he wanted to invest in the care of young people.

"All great societies protect their most vulnerable," said Oz, a former cardiac surgeon who became a household name as a frequent guest on Oprah Winfrey's daytime TV show and later as host of "The Dr. Oz Show."

"CMS provides access to superb care for our young, our disabled and our elderly," he said.

Still, he pointed to fast-growing medical expenditures nationally, the crisis facing the Medicare trust fund - which will be insolvent in about a decade - as well as high obesity rates and high maternal mortality rates as areas where the U.S. needs to improve.

"We have a generational opportunity to fix the healthcare system," Oz said.

Oz said he was an advocate for using artificial intelligence to find efficiencies and improvement in the healthcare sector. He also said he opposed the overuse by insurance companies of requiring prior authorization approvals for treatment, calling the issue a "pox on the system."

He also spoke against the cost of Medicare Advantage, saying the privatized version of traditional Medicare shouldn't cost more for taxpayers. CMS pays Medicare Advantage plans more per person than traditional Medicare and there's a growing number of Medicare Advantage customers, which has put a strain on costs.

"There's a new sheriff in town," Oz said. "We're not managing people's money well."

As of 2022, Oz and his wife owned up to $600,000 in UnitedHealth Group Inc. $(UNH)$ stock and up to $100,000 in shares of CVS Health Corp. $(CVS)$, which owns Aetna, according to Accountable.US. Both companies are large Medicare Advantage providers.

Oz - who ran a failed campaign for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022, losing to Democrat John Fetterman - also spoke about improving rural healthcare with the help of telehealth services.

Critics have slammed some of Oz's medical views, such as promoting the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine in the early days of the pandemic as a way to treat COVID-19, despite a lack of scientific evidence. Oz was also questioned about medical treatments he promoted on his talk show, which he defended as being relevant at the time.

"Dr. Oz's career promoting dubious medical treatments and pseudoscience often for personal financial gain should immediately disqualify him from serving in any public-health capacity, let alone in a top administration health post," Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk said in a press statement.

Wyden opened the hearing by saying Oz avoided paying proper Social Security and Medicare taxes. Oz previously said he followed the law, according to media reports.

The hearing was otherwise mostly friendly and cordial, filled at times with laughter from both senators and Oz.

-Jessica Hall

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March 14, 2025 16:30 ET (20:30 GMT)

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