The expected next leader of the federal Medicare agency recently reposted a social-media photo of himself standing next to his future boss, the secretary of Health and Human Services. Mehmet Oz, 64 years old, was shirtless in swim trunks, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cradled a small lizard. British provocateur Russell Brand lounged on Kennedy’s other side.
The celebrity physician known as Dr. Oz, who is scheduled to face a Senate hearing Friday on his bid to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would bring a different look to a job usually filled by low-key policy wonks.
If confirmed by the Senate as expected, the former television host will take over one of the most politically and financially sensitive agencies in the federal government at a time when it is facing unprecedented challenges, including pressure from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to cut costs.
Oz would be able to deploy a likeable persona honed during his years before the camera, as well as a warm relationship with Kennedy, with whom he shares a focus on healthy eating and preventive care. He’s been a skilled surgeon and wealthy businessman. But he has also generated controversy over products highlighted on his show, and he has little background in the nuts-and-bolts of health policy or the federal government, including CMS, which oversees $1.5 trillion in annual spending and the coverage of millions.
Some “150 million Americans will know who he is, and previous administrators, probably no Americans knew who they were,” said Tom Scully, himself a former CMS administrator under President George W. Bush. That means Oz’s policy goals will get attention, Scully said, but he may be a more tempting target for opponents.
Oz has thrown himself into preparing for the role. He has sought out former federal health officials of both parties, as well as industry leaders across major healthcare sectors. People who have met with him say he asks many questions and has patiently sat through detailed tutorials about the bureaucracy he will likely lead.
He has given few concrete indications about his plans. Oz has been a strong supporter of private insurers’ role in Medicare under the program known as Medicare Advantage, at one point writing that uninsured Americans should be covered by such plans. Yet people who have met with him in recent months said he has expressed concern about the fiscal sustainability of federal health entitlements. He has suggested that Medicare Advantage insurers might be overpaid, based on a setup that rewards them for recording patients’ diagnoses, even if those conditions aren’t treated.
Mehmet Oz has been tapped to take over one of the most politically and financially sensitive agencies in the federal government.© Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The expected next leader of the federal Medicare agency recently reposted a social-media photo of himself standing next to his future boss, the secretary of Health and Human Services. Mehmet Oz, 64 years old, was shirtless in swim trunks, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cradled a small lizard. British provocateur Russell Brand lounged on Kennedy’s other side.
The celebrity physician known as Dr. Oz, who is scheduled to face a Senate hearing Friday on his bid to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would bring a different look to a job usually filled by low-key policy wonks.
If confirmed by the Senate as expected, the former television host will take over one of the most politically and financially sensitive agencies in the federal government at a time when it is facing unprecedented challenges, including pressure from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to cut costs.
Oz would be able to deploy a likeable persona honed during his years before the camera, as well as a warm relationship with Kennedy, with whom he shares a focus on healthy eating and preventive care. He’s been a skilled surgeon and wealthy businessman. But he has also generated controversy over products highlighted on his show, and he has little background in the nuts-and-bolts of health policy or the federal government, including CMS, which oversees $1.5 trillion in annual spending and the coverage of millions.
Some “150 million Americans will know who he is, and previous administrators, probably no Americans knew who they were,” said Tom Scully, himself a former CMS administrator under President George W. Bush. That means Oz’s policy goals will get attention, Scully said, but he may be a more tempting target for opponents.
Oz has thrown himself into preparing for the role. He has sought out former federal health officials of both parties, as well as industry leaders across major healthcare sectors. People who have met with him say he asks many questions and has patiently sat through detailed tutorials about the bureaucracy he will likely lead.
He has given few concrete indications about his plans. Oz has been a strong supporter of private insurers’ role in Medicare under the program known as Medicare Advantage, at one point writing that uninsured Americans should be covered by such plans. Yet people who have met with him in recent months said he has expressed concern about the fiscal sustainability of federal health entitlements. He has suggested that Medicare Advantage insurers might be overpaid, based on a setup that rewards them for recording patients’ diagnoses, even if those conditions aren’t treated.
