After a litany of mealy-mouthed responses from Demetrios Kouzoukas and his unwillingness to address an apparent conflict of interest, the lawmakers withering loss of patience led her to declare: I will strongly oppose your nomination and I will encourage every other senator in this body to so as well.
President Joe Biden nominated Kouzoukas for trustee on the boards of three government medical insurance trust funds. It was Kouzoukas potential oversight of Medicare that drew Warrens ire, Mediaite reported .
She grilled him on his salary for serving on the board of a for-profit insurance company that she said makes money off Medicare Advantage. She said Medicare Advantage plans are overcharging the government by billions of dollars and are threatening the solvency of Medicare.
Citing the conflict of interest, Warren repeatedly asked Kouzoukas if he would resign his insurance company gig to be confirmed. Despite declaring at the Senate Finance Committee hearing that he looked forward to answering your questions, Kouzoukas didnt quite do that.
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Warren had enough.
I think you think youre gonna get away with this by just not answering the question and not having any clip that admits how much money youre taking from a private insurance company that makes its money through Medicare Advantage, at the same moment that youre trying to take a public role that will influence whether we focus on the fraud in Medicare Advantage, or whether we turn a blind eye to it, she said.
This kind of conflict is shocking and it is deeply unethical. Not a single other trustee has ever received compensation from an insurance company while acting as a Medicare trustee, she continued.
Warren said that if Kouzoukas didnt step down from the insurance company board, then you should withdraw your nomination. And if you do not withdraw, given the clear conflicts posed by your board service, I will strongly oppose your nomination and I will encourage every other senator in this body to do so as well.
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Warren shared her take-no-prisoners moment on YouTube:
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