Mehmet Oz Wins Backing of Senate Finance Panel to Lead Medicare

A US Senate panel backed Mehmet Ozto lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, sending his nomination to the full chamber for a final vote.

The Senate Finance Committee advanced Oz’s nomination Tuesday with a 14-13 vote, according to the panel’s social media post.

Oz, a surgeon and TV star, refused to commit to opposing cuts to the Medicaid health program for low-income Americans during a confirmation hearing earlier this month, despite prodding from Democratic senators. He also said he was open to cracking down on fraudulent billing practices in privatized Medicare insurance plans and speeding up the process to get insurance approvals for medical procedures. Medicare is the US health insurance program for older and disabled people.

If Oz is confirmed to lead the agency, he will oversee $1.7 trillion in federal spending. CMS programs provide health coverage for 68 million people on Medicare and 79 million people on Medicaid. It also regulates marketplaces for individual coverage through the Affordable Care Act, which covers 24 million people.

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Rachel Cohrs Zhang in Washington at rzhang698@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Anne Cronin at acronin14@bloomberg.net

Michelle Fay Cortez, Emma Court

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