Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination of Mehmet Oz, MD (aka: Dr. Oz) to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Dr. Oz holds both a medical degree and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a former surgeon and surgical professor at Columbia University’s medical school.
Oz was in practice as a cardiothoracic surgeon, who specialize in performing surgeries on the heart and blood vessels.
He worked for many years as a surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital, which is ranked number four in the United States for cardiology and heart surgery by the U.S. News and World Report.
As his acclaim in the operating room grew, he began appearing as a periodic health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The popularity of his segments eventually led to hosting his own show, “The Dr. Oz Show” which ran from 2009 to 2022.
A vital agency, especially for seniors, the CMS oversees health care programs that provide coverage to about half of all Americans. The services and programs they oversee include Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace exchange.
Nearly $1.5 trillion of government spending flows through the agency each year, which equates to about 14% of the federal government’s annual spending.
“America is facing a healthcare crisis, and there may be no physician more qualified and capable than Dr. Oz to Make America Healthy Again,” the President-elect said in a statement.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services operates under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Prior to announcing Dr. Oz to lead CMS, the President-elect announced the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of HHS, who has stated he wants to more aggressively address disease rates and the regulations on the food Americans consume.
“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,” Mr. Trump said.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the doctor would be in charge of leading the federal government's upcoming pharmaceutical price negotiations with drug companies as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is one of the federal government’s largest
Agencies.
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