On Friday hearing senators was pressed by Dr. Mehmet OZ, television celebrities nominated for the head of Medicare and Medicaid, for proposals led by Republican, which would significantly affect health care coverage for almost half of all Americans.
In his confirmation hearing before the Senate Financial Committee, Dr. Oz was pulled by senators in a friendly atmosphere and joked about basketball and loyalty to university teams. For the most part, he escaped hard questions from both sides of the aisle and depicted his charm in the air as he diverted the most pointed fears of democrats about potentially radical changes in health coverage not only those 65 and older, but also for poor children.
Many senators seemed to be dispersed by a hard debate on the Republican budget agreement to avert the government shutdown and they threw themselves in and out of the hearing of Dr. Oz. However, it is ready to sail with the Senate to confirm as another administrator of the Medicare and Medicaid Services Center, an agency with $ 1.5 trillion.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, made a large part of her financial conflicts before hearing. But she did not push him to these problems. Instead, she focused on his views on whether the Medicare’s private plans were taking over, an area where she and Dr. OZ agreed to deal with potential fraud and waste.
During hearing, he showed an easy knowledge of a number of relevant agency questions, although he has repeatedly returned to storing the answers that he will have to study the topic more.
Several legislators, mainly Democrats, tried to force Dr. OZ to express its views on the goals of Trump’s administration to limit the costs of health care and budgets of agencies, but repeatedly fought these mines.
“It is our patriotic duty to be healthy,” he told the senators. “It costs a lot of money to care for sick people to choose a lifestyle.”
This chorus is in line with the Make America Health Again, which fought Robert F. Kennedy Jr. OZ if confirmed.
Medicare advantage and privatization
Introductory notes from Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, have raised an initial promise of some demanding questions. Accused by Dr. Oz has been avoiding nearly $ 500,000 in the field of social security and Medicare in recent years by means of a tax exemption, which the Democrats concluded after reviewing the tax return. Oz. But there were no subsequent questions about it.
Mr. Wyden also increased Specter that he was going to grill Dr. Oz for its connection with TZ Insurance Solutions, a profitable company that sells Medicare Advantage plans for older Americans. Dr. OZ was a tireless promoter of these private plans that the legislators and regulators have criticized for Supper and denial of patient care for his show and channel YouTube.
Dr. OZ, 64, is also a registered broker for TZ insurance in countries across the country, according to a The recent investigation of his Finance The New York Times. Again, Mr. Wyden described this problem and did not follow.
Despite the concerns of the Democrats, Dr. The OZ would most likely return some of the rules that it should combine in the plans, instead committed itself to strong supervision. He acknowledged that some of the brokers who now sell these plans were “swirling policies”, people from one plan to another, regardless of whether the change in coverage benefited them.
“It is part of it is only recognition that there is a new sheriff in the city,” Dr. Oz. “In fact, we have to go in places and areas where we will not manage the money of the American people well.”
Several times to hear Oz was engaged in Bipartisan fears about whether the Medicare Advantage plans were overpayed. In response to questions from a colleague of the doctor, Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican Louisiana, Dr. Oz mentioned a study suggesting that the federal government spends more on a private alternative to Medicare than a government program. “It’s upside down,” he said.
“We should examine whether some money should be returned to the US people,” Dr. Oz.
He also expressed his interest in solving some bilateral fears of using the previous permission of insurance companies to approve medical procedures by reducing the number of services that would be subject to review.
Republican plans to reduce Medicaid
The Democrats looked most frustrated by Dr. Oz to Medicaid, a state federal program that covers 72 million Americans with low income. “All my colleagues want to know, will you cut Medicaid?” Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat from Washington, asked.
But Dr. Oz, who also did not speak of a program that would also supervise the agency, did not speak directly. He said he did not know the details of the Republican budget discussions in which lawmakers look at hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts that could lead to loss of people’s coverage because it was more difficult to apply and states had to carry more burden.
When he was asked by Senator Raphael Warnock, a democrat of Georgia, a Republican effort to add burdening monthly paperwork for some people to prove that they should gain benefits. Oz said he favored work requirements that Republicans want to reduce capacity. However, he agreed to ensure that people who should be entitled to Medicaid are not interrupted.
Dr. Oz and its additional business
Senators seemed to have taken other objects. For example, Dr. Over the years, Oz has earned tens of millions of dollars and promoting dietary supplements, often without any mention of its financial interest. He was paid for numerous medical and medical companies for demonstrating their products. Many of these companies would be influenced by any decisions that would make as an administrator for Medicare and Medicaid Services centers, and many of them already benefit from the financing of agencies.
Senator Maggie Hassan, a Democrat of New Hampshire, asked him to give the dollar character exactly what he did from promoting accessories on his daily TV show. He said he hadn’t paid him anything. He began to explain that Sony Pictures had distributed the show and that it was an entity paid by these companies (which he paid him again), but was cut off. In the end, Mrs. Hassan couldn’t try to get anything meaningful and continued.
Patients’ privacy and Doge
Mr. Wyden pushed Dr. OZ about the so -called Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk towards private medical information by Americans. Mr. Wyden raised concerns about protecting people’s privacy due to the potential ability of personal health and medical data. Despite his repeated questions, he said that Trump’s administration had not yet dealt with these concerns. Dr. Surprisingly, Oz said that he did not talk to the administration of what Mr. Musk’s team was doing because he checked information about the agency, but promised to “solve what was going on”.
Measles
Measles infection In Texas and New Mexico, they increased concern and equalized significant criticism in the reaction of Mr. Kennedy and Trump’s administration. Senator Ben Ray Luján, Democrat of New Mexico, asked Dr. Oz, whether they believe that the measles vaccine was safe. Dr. Oz said yes, but when the senator followed by asked if it was effective, Dr. OZ and said that assessing individual vaccines and their recommendations for use would not be under its effect, but within the centers for control and prevention of diseases.
“My work, if confirmed, is to ensure that we pay for these vaccines,” he said.
