Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity physician on television, is expected to face a hearing of confirmation on Friday, with Democratic Senators planning to challenge how Medicare and Medicaid will oversee the Republicans and Trump’s administration.
Among the potential plans examined by Republican legislators and President Trump are serious reductions in the coverage of health insurance for low -income people and a greater turn to private plans for older Americans.
Dr. Oz, 64 years old, a cardiovascular surgeon who has rumored through his successful broadcast, seems ready to secure confirmation from the full Senate.
Confirmation listening is one of the latest candidates for Trump whose organizations fall under the jurisdiction of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Minister of Health of the Nation. He immediately follows Mr Trump’s decision on Thursday to withdraw the appointment of Dr. Dave Weldon to run the Disease Control and Prevention Centers. The long -standing views of Dr. Weldon against some vaccines ruled out its chances of confirmation.
Since elderly Americans are recommended to receive certain vaccines because they are one of the most vulnerable to diseases such as Covid, influenza and pneumonia, it is likely that Dr. OZ will also be interested in the Senate team that examines its qualifications.
In addition, some of the members of the Senate Funding Committee are likely to bake Dr. Oz for his myriad financial ties, many of whom would give alarming conflicts of interest if he would lead the organization.
He has made tens of millions of dollars that place nutritional supplements and other television products and social media and many of the companies that have connections could benefit from his confirmation.
In an attempt to mitigate some of his conflicts in February, he announced that, if confirmed, he will sell his interest in more than 70 companies and investment funds, such as the Unitedhealth Group, HCA Healthcare and Amazon, which now have significant health care companies. Its businesses and family farms are valued in the neighborhood of about $ 90 million to $ 335 million, according to a recent regulatory deposit.
Senate Democrats are expected to host Dr. Oz’s vocal support for controversial private insurance plans for elderly American known as Medicare Advantage. Insurers who exploit these plans have been criticized, accused of overloading the government and deny the necessary care of patients. Dr. Oz also had close links with companies selling the plans, many of which have also been accused of overly aggressive marketing tactics.
As a Medicare and Medicaid centers administrator, Dr. Oz will determine how closely the organization will monitor the Medicare Advantage industry. It could also encourage people to sign up for private plans instead of the traditional government program. Medicare now covers about 68 million people, with a slightly more half than half that is now receiving insurance through Medicare Advantage plans. Nearly seven million of those in Medicare are under 65 years of age.
Few are known about Dr. OZ About Medicaid, the huge state-federal program that provides coverage to 72 million low-income Americans and with disabled, some of which are also in Medicare. Republicans in Congress are seeing the program to possibly find up to $ 880 billion in cuts, which could lead to much fewer people eligible to cover health and affect how much individual states should contribute.
Senate Democrats also want answers about recent income tax deposits, focusing on whether it paid the required amount for Medicare taxes, according to a note by the staff examined by the New York Times.
“The Government Ethics Office has conducted an extensive review of Dr. Oz’s finances as part of the normal control process,” said Christopher Krepich, his spokesman.
The Ethics Office informed the Senate that “any possible conflicts have been resolved and complying with the law,” Mr Krepich added.
But Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, sent a 28 -page letter to Dr. Oz on Thursday, strongly asking to provide answers about his positions and possible conflicts.
“The organization is worth a leader who is willing to put first the interests of patients, providers and taxpayers – not a person who seeks to privatize these programs and has spent much of his career from entities who compress every last health care dollar and taxpayers.”
