WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Mehmet Oz, president Donald Trump's pick who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Friday morning.
64 years old He was a respected cardiac surgeon. A popular TV pitchman. Now he is aiming to oversee health insurance for around 150 million Americans who are enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, or Affordable Care Acts.
Republicans who are coalescing over Trump's health agency candidates are likely to ask OZ about Medicare and Medicaid plans, including the Trump administration's focus Eliminate fraud From a trillion dollar program.
Meanwhile, Democrats question OZ's tax returns. They show that he used a tax law loophole to pay taxes for Medicare, a program he oversees, in thousands of dollars. They also grill OZ with comments on his TV show that he added to health insurance coverage and supports privatised Medicare.
The U.S. Government Ethics Office has conducted a “extensive review” of Oz's finances, spokesman Christopher Crepitch said in an Oz tax statement. He added that the firm has stated that “potential disputes have been resolved and are in compliance with the law.”
Oz hawk everything from supplements from his previous television series The Dr. Oz Show to private health insurance plans.
OZ's net worth ranges from $98 million to $332 million. For disclosure analysislists asset values within the range, but does not give an exact dollar number. According to his latest disclosures, he also holds millions of dollars worth of stakes in health insurance, infertility, pharmaceutical companies and vitamin companies. He has pledged to sell for him from dozens of companies that will bring about conflict.
At work, he was able to make decisions about who and what Medicare and Medicaid cover, allowing him to wield important power over most healthcare companies operating in the United States.
The Oz hearing occurs as the Trump administration is trying to complete the leadership posts of the country's top health agencies. On Thursday, the Senate Committee voted to advance the nomination of Marty McCurry, poised to lead the Food and Drug Administration, with Jay Batacharya directing for a full Senate vote to helm the National Institute of Health. Dave Weldon's appointment to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Suddenly retreated Thursday.
All those men leaned in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The call to “make America healthy again” is a controversial effort to redesign the country's food supply, reject vaccine mandates, and raise questions about long-established scientific research.
“Americans need better research into healthy lifestyle choices from impartial scientists,” Oz wrote in a social media post late last year, celebrating Kennedy's nomination for becoming the national health secretary.
This is not Oz's first testimony in front of the Senator. In 2014, several senators scold him at a hearing about a suspicious weight loss product he hokes on TV.
___
Associated Press Health Writer Tom Murphy contributed to this report from Indianapolis.
