The Senate has confirmed Mehmet Oz as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), making him the head of Medicaid at a time where its funding is at risk of being severely cut.
The Senate voted 53-45 along party lines to confirm Oz.
The heart-surgeon-turned-celebrity-physician faced intense questioning by Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee. Oz often dodged providing specific answers, providing generalities.
The former Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate notably did not say whether he supported potential GOP cuts to Medicaid.
CMS provides coverage for 68 million people on Medicare and 79 million people on Medicaid. Much of what Oz said aligned with the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Let’s be aggressive in modernizing our tools to reduce fraud, waste and abuse. This will stop unscrupulous people from stealing from vulnerable Americans and extend the life of the Medicare trust fund,” Oz said in his Senate hearing.
As the head of CMS, Oz is also responsible for implementing the Affordable Care Act, legislation he previously said he would have opposed had been in Congress at the time.
In his previous career as a television host, Oz garnered criticism for endorsing false or misleading medical claims. In 2018, he agreed to a $5.25 million settlement over a lawsuit in which he was accused of exaggerating the benefits of weight loss supplements.
His once campaign opponent, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), voted against confirming Oz to be CMS administrator, though he had maintained an openness to voting yes.
“If Dr. Oz is about protecting and preserving Medicare and Medicaid, I’m voting for the dude,” Fetterman said on social media.
At least one Republican had expressed reservations about confirming Oz. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) took to social media after Oz’s hearing, saying he hoped the nominee had changed his stances on issues like hormone treatments for transgender children and abortion access.
On his eponymous show, Oz once hosted two transgender children in what GLAAD described as a “groundbreaking” interview that was handled with “overwhelming respect and accuracy.” As a Senate candidate in 2022, Oz said he was “pro-life” but did not support “criminal penalties for doctors or women regarding abortion.”
Oz had apparently reassured Hawley of his current views, as the Missouri senator said this week that Oz told him he “disavows his previous support for trans surgeries & drugs for minor children” and had also walked back his previous criticisms of “state pro-life laws.”
This story was updated at 5:19 p.m.