Mehmet Oz, the celebrity physician and television host, will testify before the Senate Finance Committee on Friday for his confirmation hearing to be head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
If confirmed, Oz would take the helm of a $1.5 trillion agency. It sets payment rates for doctors, hospitals and insurers, while also overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act — programs that provide coverage for more than 150 million people.
Oz made an unsuccessful run for a Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2022, losing to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). He has no experience running a large bureaucracy. In his first term, Trump chose Seema Verma, a health consultant with a long history in health policy, for the CMS role.
Watch Oz’s confirmation hearing above.
The hearing is expected to begin at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
