Former heart surgeon and TV pitchman Dr Mehmet Oz was confirmed on Thursday to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Oz became the agency’s administrator in a party-line 53-45 vote.
The 64-year-old will manage health insurance programs for roughly half the country, with oversight of Medicare, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage.
He steps into the new role as Congress is debating cuts to the Medicaid program, which provides coverage to millions of poor and disabled Americans.
Oz, who worked for years as a respected heart surgeon at Columbia University, also noted that doctors dislike Medicaid for its relatively low payments and some don’t want to take those patients.
Oz will take over the CMS days after the agency was spared from the type of deep cuts that Kennedy ordered at other public health agencies.
The US Department of Health and Human Services has defended the decision, saying that the money was being wasted since the pandemic is over. »
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