President Donald Trump raised eyebrows with nominations political pundits thought had no chance of gaining Senate approval for confirmation. One, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and Trump’s original choice for attorney general, withdrew before any hearings took place.
But the Senate recently confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, despite criticism from Senate Democrats and a handful of Republican lawmakers over her 2017 meeting with Syria’s Bashar Assad, the country’s longtime strongman and ostensible president. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services despite his controversial views on vaccines.
Several confirmation hearings have yet to take place for people who would ultimately work under Kennedy at HHS. One of the most notable is that of Dr. Mehmet Oz, whom Trump nominated to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Oz was the 2022 Republican Senate nominee in Pennsylvania but lost to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). Oz is best known as a television personality due to Oprah Winfrey’s influence. He is also a respected cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in heart surgery, including heart transplants and valve replacements. He first gained prominence in 1996 when he and fellow surgeon Eric Rose performed a heart transplant on Frank Torre, brother of New York Yankees manager Joe Torre, during the team’s World Series run.
Although criticized for promoting questionable products and services during his television career, Oz likely won’t encounter significant scrutiny regarding these issues during his confirmation hearings. While it falls under the umbrella of HHS, the CMS is notable as one of the most critical government agencies. With over 6,000 employees, the CMS manages over $1.5 trillion in annual spending to administer Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
What is likely to attract the most scrutiny toward Oz is his endorsement of expanding Medicare Advantage.
Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, serves as an all-in-one alternative to original Medicare, which consists of Part A for hospital insurance and Part B for medical insurance. Rather than receiving Medicare benefits directly from the government, recipients select a private insurance company that bundles all the services together — often including extra benefits such as vision, dental, hearing, gym memberships, and more. Also, for people willing to use doctors within a network, Medicare Advantage has lower premiums and includes prescription coverage — Medicare Part D.
In recent years, Democrats have increased their scrutiny of the program. Last fall, Democratic staffers from the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s investigative subcommittee released a report scrutinizing several Medicare Advantage insurers, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and CVS, for using prior authorization and algorithms to deny claims. Prior authorization requires the insured to get approval from the insurance company before undergoing medical care or treatment, while traditional Medicare does not have this stipulation.
The evidence that Democrats are likely to challenge Oz during his confirmation hearings is reflected in the letter sent to him in early December 2024 by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), then-Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX).
The lawmakers asked Oz, “Do you still continue to view Traditional Medicare as a ‘highly dysfunctional’ program?” The reference is to a 2020 Forbes op-ed that Oz co-wrote with the former CEO of Kaiser Permanente, George Halverson. The comment centered on the idea many progressive Democrats pushed during the 2020 campaign: Medicare for All.
Oz and Halverson wrote that Medicare for All would require an entirely new infrastructure because the government doesn’t administer Medicare directly. “More important,” they wrote, “that would continue the highly dysfunctional approach of buying every item of care by the piece, which incentivizes abuse and cripples systematic process improvement.”
Other questions concern Oz’s financial interests in insurance companies that would likely benefit from increased access to Medicare Advantage. These interests and his past comments about Medicare will serve as the foundation for Democratic opposition to Oz.
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Oz will face internal pressure from Trump, who vowed not to “cut one penny” from Medicare. Still, because the America First Policy Institute, which is close to Trump, recommends auto-enrolling seniors in Medicare Advantage instead of traditional Medicare, Oz will likely face stricter scrutiny over his views on Medicare because many retirees live in red states such as Texas and Florida.
Whatever criticism Oz faces, it is reasonable to suggest it won’t matter in the end. Republicans in the Senate seem inclined to confirm all of Trump’s appointees. With Kennedy’s confirmation under the most significant spotlight, it’s unlikely enough that Republicans will bolt and vote against Oz.
Andrea Ruth is a contributor to the Washington Examiner magazine.
