Former cardiac surgeon and TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz testified on the Senate Finance Committee on Friday His nomination Lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Trump.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the committee's top Democrat, was accused of Oz of “avoiding Medicare and Social Security taxes.” Wyden said the tax loophole “benefits Dr. Oz from $440,000 over the past three years.”
“Now, doctors will testify about his concern about the health of health insurance, but he is reluctant to pay the same taxes that millions of Americans pay from every salary,” Wyden said.
According to a memorandum of the Commission’s Democratic staff, OZ “may have significantly underestimated his Social Security and Medicare taxes in 2021, 2022 and 2023 – not related to the Social Security or Medicare taxes in 2022, and there is no Social Security or Medicare tax paid in 2022.” The staff said the conclusion was based on a review of his submitted questionnaire, tax returns and financial disclosure statements. They also meet with Oz, his accountant and his legal representative.
After Friday’s hearing, the Republican-led committee will arrange a vote on whether to nominate the Senate nomination, which he will likely be approved given the Republican majority. If confirmed, OZ would be the executive who oversees the federal government spending nearly $1.5 trillion on Medicare and Medicaid. Two health insurance plans for older and poor Americans account for one-third of the budget.
Medicare covers approximately 65 million people through programs directed by the federal government or plans signed with private insurance companies. Medicaid supports approximately 85 million programs through programs managed by state governments, which are mainly supervised by the CMS.
The final decision of Medicare and Medicaid sought by the Biden administration may abandon Oz, e.g. An expensive suggestion In November, coverage will be expanded to drugs for weight loss, such as Ozes.
OZ is also expected to face the issue of his important authority in CMS administrators serving as private health insurance.
On Monday, CMS proposed several actions to reverse the Biden administration's expansion into insurance markets created by the Affordable Care Act, such as shortening open enrollment periods and excluding DACA Recipient From coverage. Oz said in 2022 that the law “has been a destruction of our health care system” and that he “will not vote for it.”
The Wizard of Oz will be Trump's fourth draft pick for health officials to face senators' inquiries. After the White House, Dr. David Weldon's hearing was suddenly canceled for a day. Withdrew his nomination Lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most senators on the Senate Health Committee raised the president’s nominee, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who runs the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Marty Makary will lead on Thursday with the Food and Drug Administration.
A month ago, the Senate narrowly confirmed the Wizard of Oz, Health and Public Services by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In a social media post last month, The Wizard of Oz had a “great conversation” with the main Republicans he needed to win the nomination.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican chairman of the Senate Health Committee, sat down with OZ last month. Cassidy is one of four doctors in the Senate.
“Meet with President Trump's nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is responsible for the Medicare & Medicaid Services Center. It would be great to have a doctor,” Cassidy said on February 5.
The president's choice for CMS has been criticized by some Senate Democrats who have cited Oz's past advocacy for “shocking pseudoscience”, records of anti-abortion statements and concerns about conflicts of interest.
Oz previously worked as a professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University and hosted the host of “Oz Dr. Show” until 2022 when he stopped recording new TV shows to run for the Senate seat in Pennsylvania.
He lost to Democrat John Fetterman in a Senate A narrow game Abortion is the top priority for voters.
As part of an ethical agreement released last month, Oz said he would resign from positions at several companies including nutritional supplement company IHERB and drugmaker Housey Pharma. He also promised to withdraw from several healthcare companies, including insurance giant United Healthcare.
After the Senate match, Oz was promoted as a global adviser to IHERB. After the nomination, he continued to promote IHERB supplements on social media.
In the years after the Senate race, he also continued to repost past excerpts from the show, like the clip he shared in a September 4 interview about Medicare Advantage coverage. In 2020, the Wizard of Oz later suggested extending Medicare Advantage to all Americans.
Oz said in the clip that Medicare Advantage enrollment has increased by 70% since he started the show. More than half of older adults choose these programs instead of “original Medicare” coverage, according to the latest federal data.
“I want to push you. I don't want to push you. But think about it because it's been up 70% since I started the show, which means a lot to me.”
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