Dr. Mehmet Oz was accused of his detractors at a Senate confirmation hearing at Capitol Hill on Friday for promoting Congress's historic alternative health care.
Oz submitted the agency's plans, including potential reforms he is considering during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. The committee will soon vote on whether to advance Oz's appointment and become the next director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' next Senate organization.
Oz's medical expertise was not widely challenged on Friday, but his motivation was. Oz was called “American Doctor” by Oprah Winfrey and occasionally used his television platform to promote alternative health relief, supporting questionable weight loss solutions such as green coffee extract and raspberry ketone.
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Dr. Mehmet Oz, the chosen President Donald Trump to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, sat in front of the Senate Finance Committee in Capitol Hill, Washington on Friday. (AP Photo/Ben Cartis)
Sen. Maggie Hassan (DN.H.) tried to admit to Oz that promotions for certain supplements for weight loss, such as green coffee extract, were fraudulent. Oz admitted that green coffee extracts were not a miraculous weight loss drug, but he insisted that he never promoted it that way.
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“There are a lot I said to the show. I take great pride in the research we did to identify these tasks and what didn't work. Many of them are still being studied, like the green coffee bean extracts you mentioned earlier,” Oz told Hassan. The senator then asked how much he was paid to promote these products, and Oz replied that he had no gains.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was chosen by President Donald Trump to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is paying attention to Sen. Roger Marshall greets R-Kan and Oz testifies at a confirmation hearing before Capitol Hill's Senate Finance Committee on Friday. (AP Photo/Ben Cartis)
However, Oz's claim that he had not received a fee to promote the product did not convince Hassan. Hassan pointed to reports that recorded “Dr. Oz Effect.”
“It was written by the press,” Oz told Hassan. Hassan then argued that Oz “will not be accountable for (his) promotion in snake oil treatment.”
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Oz's financial connections with many companies across many corners of the healthcare sector, including dietary supplements, were a point of scrutiny for his detractors. In an ethics application filed prior to the hearing, OZ indicated that it would sell its holdings in more than 70 companies and investment funds that could potentially lead to conflicts of interest.
One of those companies is Iherb, an online supplement retailer representing one of OZ's biggest financial holdings. According to his ethics submission, Iherb's Oz holding is worth $25 million.
Dr. Mehmet Oz played in the Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2022, but ultimately lost a bid for Democrat John Fetterman. (Mark Makera/Getty Images)
As the CMS administrator, OZ makes decisions related to procedures within federal healthcare programs, how hospital stays, how drug therapy is covered, and the rate at which healthcare providers receive payment for services. If confirmed, OZ could theoretically obtain federal healthcare programs such as Medicaid and Medicare and cover many supplements that have not yet been covered.
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A committee vote to decide whether to send OZ to the full Senate is not yet scheduled. He must win at least 50 votes in the full Senate to be confirmed.
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