The Senate today voted 53-45 to confirm Dr. Mehmet Oz — a former medical TV talk show host known for his support for the Medicare Advantage program — as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator.
All 53 Senate Republicans voted for Oz, and all Senate Democrats who voted opposed him.
CMS is an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It runs Medicare, including the Medicare Advantage program and the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
CMS also oversees the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly program, a program aimed at low-income and moderate-income Medicare enrollees who have enough problems with "activities of daily living" to qualify for Medicaid nursing home benefits. The program provides what amounts to home-based long-term care for about 82,000 people, according to the National PACE Association.
CMS employees have said that the CMS office in charge of PACE plan management was hit hard by this week's "HHS bloodletting."
Oz said in March during a Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing that he continues to believe strongly in the Medicare Advantage program model, which provides lower levels of cost-sharing and extra benefits than "Original Medicare" for Medicare enrollees who agree to see in-network providers and agree to active management of their use of care.
"I think there are ways for us to ensure that the marketing process works better for the folks involved," Oz said.
Oz has a bachelor's degree from Harvard and a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a cardiothoracic surgeon who was a full professor at Columbia University's medical school.
For 13 years, he was the host of "The Dr. Oz Show." He stepped away from the TV show in 2022 to run an unsuccessful campaign to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate.
He earned a health insurance producer's license in New Jersey in 2020. He has not met his continuing education requirements, but the license will be active until June 30.
Dr. Mehmet Oz. Credit: Senate Finance Committee
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