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President-elect Donald Trump has selected Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a key federal agency that oversees health insurance coverage for more than 150 million Americans.
“I've known Dr. Oz for many years, and I'm sure he will fight to make our country great and healthy again, so that everyone in America has access to the best possible health care!” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. “Dr. Oz will be a leader in promoting disease prevention, so we get the best results in the world for every dollar we spend on health care in our great nation.”
Trump, who is also seeking to cut costs in the federal government and has long had Medicaid cuts in mind, has vowed to take a crack at the massive agency.
“It will also eliminate waste and fraud in our nation's most expensive government agency, which accounts for a third of our nation's health care spending and a quarter of our total national budget,” the president-elect said in a statement.
Oz, cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality, ed. He unsuccessfully ran for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022 with Trump's support. He lost to Democratic now-Sen. John Fetterman.
In the year In 2018, Trump appointed Oz to the Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, and reappointed him in 2020.
Oz rose to fame as a frequent guest on Oprah Winfrey, eventually becoming a guest star on Oprah Winfrey. In 2009, he launched his own syndicated daytime TV talk show. He became one of Oz's characters on “The Dr. Oz Show,” which won multiple Daytime Emmy Awards and reached millions of viewers. The most famous doctors in the country.
But the attitude towards covid-19 It sparked controversy.. For example, at the beginning of the epidemic, Oz spoke The anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine has been touted as a way to treat the coronavirus – although there is no strong scientific evidence that it is an effective treatment. Many of the Oz visions were praised by Republicans at the time.
Oz's selection continues Trump's unconventional choices, including key roles in the administration Robert F. Kennedy Jr Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. If both are confirmed, Kennedy will become the boss of Oz. For the first time for CMS administrator, Trump chose Seema Vermawho had Long story In health policy and specialist consultation Medicaid.
Before running for the Senate, Oz supported Obamacare, KFile reported In the year in 2022, though campaign spokesman Oz has pushed back on those views, saying he won't vote for the landmark health reform bill.
Still, Oz's previous support for the Affordable Care Act contrasts with Trump's stance on the law, which he promised Repeal and replacement In the first presidential campaign. Although Trump has said now that he will not try to get rid of Obamacare, he has repeatedly said so Replace it A better plan – although the president-elect has not provided details on such a policy.
If confirmed, Oz would be responsible for overseeing the Affordable Care Act exchanges, which would enroll more than 20 million people by 2024 — a record — in federal and state-run marketplaces. In Trump's first term, the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services came back Marketing And Registration assistanceIt also shortened the registration period, which reduced the number of people covered.
Oz would also have control over Medicare and Medicaid, two major federal health programs that cover tens of millions of elderly Americans and low-income residents.
Oz has been a supporter of Medicare Advantage, a fast-growing program in which the federal government pays private insurers to provide coverage for elderly and disabled Americans. During his Senate campaign, he supported a health care plan called “Medicare Advantage Plus,” an expansion of the popular program.
The Biden administration has done a lot Changes to the program To address the criticism that insurers have been overpaid in recent years. Insurers argue that the payments are not enough to cover their medical expenses, and some have limited the plans they offer in the program.
The CMS administrator is expected to play a major role in the second Trump administration, as Republicans are expected to propose changes to Medicaid, which they have sought to reduce in the past. In addition, the White House and GOP lawmakers must decide what to do about it next year Improved Obamacare premium subsidies Expires at the end of 2025
Oz also held other views that did not conform to traditional Republican orthodoxy. As a physician, for example, he has argued that everyone in America should have insurance — a view that, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, “progressives have long pushed for;Medicare for allHe said. Oz said the government should provide health care coverage for Americans who can't afford it. “It should be mandatory for everyone in America to have health care coverage. If you can't afford it, we have to give it to you,” Oz said. The Seattle Times in 2009.
An advocate of alternative medicine and therapies, Oz has been under fire in the medical community for years. In 2015 A group of doctors from Columbia University wroteOz was a member of the school's faculty who said they were “shocked.” And in the year In 2014, Oz was criticized by senators in a congressional hearing for promoting weight loss products on a television show.
Reaction to Oz's candidacy largely fell along party lines.
Dr. Senator Bill Cassidy, who was appointed to chair the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions next year, praised the nomination and noted that a doctor has been leading CMS for more than ten years.
“This is a great opportunity to help patients and implement conservative health reforms,” the Louisiana Republican said. Posted on X.
But Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., Democrat of New Jersey and a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the nominee “doesn't care about Americans' health care.”
“Given the critical importance of this agency, I am concerned that President-elect Trump has chosen a TV celebrity to lead it without the experience or expertise,” he said in a statement. “By naming both RFK, Jr. and Dr. Oz, Trump is doubling down on leaders peddling dangerous misinformation that threatens public health.”
Left-wing activists have expressed concern about the agency's direction with the Oz administration.
“Dr. Oz's past policy positions indicate that he strongly supports Project 2025's plan to make Medicare Advantage — privatized Medicare — the default for all Medicare enrollees,” said Andrea Dukas, vice president of health policy at the Center for American Progress in a statement. Multi-billion dollar corporations that limit Americans' health care choices It's a gift, not an uninsured expansion of Medicare Advantage.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Oliver Darcy contributed to this report.