Trump picks Dr. Oz as CMS chief
By HME News Staff
Updated 5:15 PM CST, Tue November 19, 2024
WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump has named Mehmet Oz, the celebrity physician known as Dr. Oz, as his pick for CMS administrator, according to online news reports.
Oz, 64, ran for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, ultimately losing to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and has been a Trump ally ever since, according to reports.
“Dr. Oz will work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take on the illness industrial complex and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday. “Dr. Oz will be a leader in incentivizing disease prevention, so we get the best results in the world for every dollar we spend on health care in our great country.”
Last week, Trump named Kennedy, an activist, as his pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As CMS Administrator, Oz would oversee a broad agency that provides coverage through Medicare, Medicaid and other programs to more than 160 million people. He has been a major supporter of Medicare Advantage, the program’s private sector alternative that has grown in popularity but has come under intense scrutiny for care denials and alleged overbilling.
Oz, like RFK Jr., must be confirmed by Congress.
Comments