The Senate voted 53-45 on April 3 to confirm Mehmet Oz, MD, as CMS administrator, according to reports from Politico and USA Today.
As administrator, Dr. Oz will oversee the federal agency responsible for providing healthcare coverage to more than 160 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the ACA marketplace. He will also oversee the Medicare payment structure for physicians.
Three things to know:
1. Dr. Oz takes the helm as HHS begins implementing a “dramatic restructuring,” which includes plans to lay off 10,000 full-time employees across HHS. Layoffs began April 1, affecting about 300 CMS employees, according to a March 27 HHS fact sheet.
2. The confirmation follows a 14-13 vote by the Senate Finance Committee on March 25, which advanced his nomination to the full Senate.
During Dr. Oz’s March 14 nomination hearing with the Finance Committee, lawmakers questioned his stance regarding potential Medicaid cuts, which Dr. Oz did not directly address.
“I commit to doing whatever I can, working tirelessly to ensure that CMS provides Americans with superb care,” Dr. Oz said during the hearing. “Especially Americans who are most vulnerable. Our young, our disabled and our elderly.”
3. The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, which represents pharmacy benefit companies, congratulated Dr. Oz in an April 3 statement. The association emphasized the importance of Medicare and Medicaid — in particular the Medicare Part D Program — as “critical” for Americans in need of access to affordable prescriptions.
“America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) continue to deliver significant cost savings, especially for taxpayers and patients through programs like Medicare Part D, saving an average of $2,442 per person per year,” PCMA President and CEO JC Scott said in the statement. “PBMs support lower prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and all patients. We look forward to working with Dr. Oz and the entire Trump Administration to deliver lower drug costs for every American patient.”
