WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Dr. Mehmet Oz promised senators on Friday to fight health care fraud and push to make Americans healthier if he becomes the next leader of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
But the former heart surgeon and TV personality dodged several opportunities to say broadly whether he would oppose , the government-funded program for people with low incomes.
Oz, President Donald Trump鈥檚 pick to be the next CMS administrator, also said technology like artificial intelligence and telemedicine could be a key in making care more efficient and accessible.
鈥淲e have a generational opportunity to fix our health care system and help people stay healthy for longer,鈥� he said.
The 64-year-old who turned into a popular TV pitchman. He hawked everything from supplements to private health insurance plans on 鈥淭he Dr. Oz Show,鈥� which ran for 13 seasons and helped him amass a fortune.
Now he has his sights on overseeing health insurance for about 150 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid or Affordable Care Act coverage. As CMS administrator, he could wield significant power over most health companies operating in the U.S. because he can make decisions about who and what are covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
Oz faced over two and a half hours of questioning Friday before the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee, which will vote later on whether to forward his nomination to the full Senate for consideration.
Leading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services presents a 鈥渕onumental opportunity鈥� to make the country healthier, Oz told senators. He talked about how a healthy population cuts down on expensive chronic diseases, and he offered suggestions of ways to help with that.
He noted, for instance, that most Medicare Advantage plans 鈥� privately run versions of the federally funded Medicare program 鈥� provide an allowance for food purchases. But they give no 鈥渞eal advice鈥� on how to use it wisely.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have to order people to eat healthy, we have to make it easier for people to be healthy,鈥� adding that he considered maintaining good health a 鈥減atriotic duty.鈥�
Republicans, who have coalesced around Trump's nominees for the health agencies, asked Oz about his plans for from the $1 trillion programs. He talked about going after insurers that bill for diagnoses that never lead to treatment.
He also said technology like telemedicine can be used to help close gaps in care access, particularly in rural areas. Several senators mentioned concerns about the closure of rural hospitals in their states.
He said rural hospitals could form partnerships with bigger institutions in nearby cities.
鈥淲e have to revisit how we deliver rural care in America,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 depend on 100-bed hospitals that do one delivery a day to provide state-of-the-art care.鈥�
In response to a question about whether he would support Medicaid cuts if they lead to rural hospital closures, Oz said he didn't want those hospitals to close 鈥渦nless we have a better option.鈥�
Oz also would like to see limits on insurer care pre-approvals in Medicare Advantage. He called that practice, known as prior authorization, 鈥渁 pox on the system鈥� that hikes administrative costs.
Oz also told senators that he favored work requirements for Medicaid recipients, but paperwork shouldn鈥檛 be used to reaffirm that they are working or to block people from staying enrolled.
Democrats tried to pin down Oz on potential cuts to the state- and federally funded Medicaid program that Republicans are considering. Oz did note that doctors dislike the program for its relatively low payments and some don't want to take those patients.
He said that when Medicaid eligibility was expanded without improving resources for doctors, that made care options even thinner for the program's core patients, which include children, pregnant women and people with disabilities.
鈥淲e have to make some important decisions to improve the quality of care,鈥� he said.
Oz's hearing came as the Trump administration seeks to finalize leadership posts for the nation鈥檚 top health agencies.
On Thursday, Senate committees voted to advance the nominations of Marty Makary, poised to lead the Food and Drug Administration, and Jay Bhattacharya, set to helm the National Institutes for Health, for a full Senate vote. The nomination of Dave Weldon to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday.
Those men have all leaned into 's call to 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again,鈥� an effort to redesign the nation's food supply, reject vaccine mandates and cast doubt on some long-established scientific research.
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Murphy reported from Indianapolis.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Amanda Seitz And Tom Murphy, The Associated Press
