Dr. Oz becomes next head of Medicare and Medicaid Services following approval from full Senate

Dr. Mehmet Oz volition service arsenic the adjacent head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services aft the afloat Senate voted on enactment lines to corroborate his information connected Thursday. 

The erstwhile daytime TV doc turned person volition beryllium successful complaint of astir $1.5 trillion successful national healthcare spending. His duties volition entail overseeing Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including directing decisions related to however the authorities covers procedures, infirmary stays and medication, arsenic good arsenic the reimbursement rates astatine which healthcare providers get paid for their services.   

Medicare is simply a federal healthcare program for seniors aged 65 and up, and presently provides sum to astir 65 cardinal Americans, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy. Medicaid, a nationalist wellness assistance programme for radical with debased incomes, covers astir 72 cardinal Americans, according to Medicaid.gov. Meanwhile, CHIP, which provides escaped oregon low-cost wellness sum for eligible low-income children and household members, assists astir 7.2 cardinal individuals. 

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GOP Senate campaigner Mehmet Oz is greeted by erstwhile president Donald Trump astatine a rally to enactment section candidates astatine the Mohegan Sun Arena connected Sept. 3, 2022 successful Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

A postgraduate of Harvard University, Oz received aesculapian and concern degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. He is simply a erstwhile bosom surgeon who saw his fame emergence done his appearances connected daytime television, including "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and 13 seasons of "The Dr. Oz Show."

Oz aboriginal transitioned into politics, launching an unsuccessful bid for Pennsylvania’s unfastened Senate seat successful 2022. He mislaid to John Fetterman, past the state's lieutenant governor.

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Republican Senate campaigner Mehmet Oz speaks astatine a run rally up of the midterm elections successful Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, Nov. 7, 2022. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"Dr. Oz has a beardown tendency to modernize CMS and promote steadfast lifestyles for each Americans, including by focusing connected the underlying causes of chronic illness and implementing innovative technologies," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said Thursday.

Crapo, who led Oz's information process astatine the committee level, commended Oz for his "diligence and accessibility" passim the process, including his willingness to reply "hundreds" of questions for the record.

Those questions came from some Republicans and Democrats. They included asking astir Oz's stance connected abortion, transgender aesculapian treatments, Medicare privatization, medicine cause pricing and more. Potential fiscal conflicts of involvement were besides a interest among Democratic lawmakers passim Oz's confirmation process. Oz has committed to divesting immoderate holdings that whitethorn airs an issue. 

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Thursday's confirmation comes arsenic the Trump medication continues to enactment to finalize the remainder of its governmental appointments, including notably the president's prime to beryllium the adjacent United Nations ambassador and his prime for manager of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

Per The Washington Post's "political appointee tracker," determination are presently inactive 233 nominees being considered by the Senate.