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By Ahmed Aboulenein and Michael Erman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity physician and former Republican Senate candidate nominated by President Donald Trump to oversee government health insurance programs, said on Friday he would not commit to opposing cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care to many poor Americans.
Oz, who has never held public office, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee over his confirmation as administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
CMS is a wide-reaching agency with annual spending of $2.6 trillion that oversees health insurance for more than half of Americans, many of whom are covered by Medicaid, a joint federal and state program. Republicans say they hope to cut federal spending in the program.
"Medicaid is the number one expense item in most states, consuming 30% of those state budgets, and that's crowding out essential services like schools and public safety that many of you spent your careers trying to develop," Oz said in his opening statement before the committee.
He said he was in favor of work requirements for Medicaid recipients.
Oz, 64, gained national prominence as a cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality, hosting "The Dr. Oz Show" for over a decade, where he dispensed medical advice and, at times, controversial health recommendations.
He is likely to be confirmed. Republicans control the Senate and have been largely supportive of Oz, who in 2022 ran with Trump's endorsement as the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania and lost. Republicans have backed nearly all Trump's nominees.
Yesterday, the White House withdrew Trump's nomination of Dave Weldon, a physician who has criticized vaccines, to run the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a surprise move shortly before his scheduled Senate confirmation hearing.
Oz would head Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people aged 65 or older or who have disabilities, oversee Medicaid, the state-based health insurance program for low-income people, and the Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, for low-income children and pregnant women.
He would also run the main program for income-based government-subsidized health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Collectively these programs provide coverage for almost 172 million people, government data shows.
Oz would also be responsible for the ongoing implementation of Medicare drug price negotiations, a key provision of former President Joe Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act aimed at lowering prescription drug costs.
"President Trump's been very clear on this. We want to reduce the cost of medications to our government and to the American people. That's not happening right now. We can do better," said Oz. He later said he would use the negotiation program to lower costs - and continue defending it in court.
Oz also pledged to go after wrongful health insurance practices called upcoding, where insurers charge for more expensive care than was actually provided.
"This will be one of the topics that is relatively enjoyable to go after, because I think we have bipartisan support," he said.
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington, Additional reporting by Michael Erman and Amina Niasse in New York; Editing by Nia Williams and David Gregorio)
