Oz, who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2022, spoke in broad generalities during his confirmation hearing, using the flair of a seasoned television host to avoid being pinned down on specifics on how he would run the $1.7 trillion agency.
A day after senators complained about the unpreparedness of the White House’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose nomination was pulled an hour before his confirmation hearing, Oz’s charm was on full display.
He prefaced each of his answers by sharing a memory from a recent a one-on-one meeting, and then responding to a point the senator made during that meeting.
But after the two-and-a-half hour hearing, it was still difficult to get a sense of how Oz will run the country’s insurance programs — Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s health exchanges.
Still, his questioning was much less harsh than some of President Trump’s other nominees.
Under consistent prodding from Democrats about his plans for Medicaid, the joint state and federal program for low-income Americans, Oz declined to outright oppose any cuts.
Oz said only that he wants to ensure there are providers who will accept Medicaid patients and that they are paid fairly under the program.
Oz gave a glimpse into how he views Medicaid by saying he supports work requirements, and suggested ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion has grown the program far beyond its original purpose.
“The rapid expansion of the required expenses of monies for Medicaid is far beyond what was ever envisioned when ACA was originally passed,” he said. “It is one of the ways we can do better.”
In one notable shift, Oz indicated he thinks private Medicare Advantage insurers are being overpaid by the government. The U.S. is “paying more for Medicare Advantage than we’re paying for regular Medicare, so it’s upside down,” Oz said.
Previously, Oz had been a champion of Medicare Advantage plans and once advocated for “Medicare Advantage for All,” expanding the program to enroll all Americans who are not on Medicaid.
