Donald Trump has cast TV personality and former Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz selected as his nominee to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The 78-year-old president-elect said Oz, 64, will work closely with Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to tackle the “industrial disease complex.”
Oz lost his 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race to John Fetterman after defeating now-elect U.S. Senator David McCormick in the Republican primary.
Before running for Senate, Oz hosted the Dr. Oz Show and was a frequent guest on Oprah Winfrey’s show.
His syndicated talk show won nine Daytime Emmy Awards and featured segments on health and wellness and gave viewers advice on medications.
“Our broken health care system is harming everyday Americans and crushing our country’s budget,” Trump said.
Donald Trump has Dr. Mehmet Oz as his nominee to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Trump said he has known Oz for “many years” and that he is “confident that he will fight to ensure that everyone in America gets the best health care possible so that our country can be great and healthy again!”
He would serve directly under Kennedy, who Trump has chosen to lead the department.
“He is an eminent physician, heart surgeon, inventor and world-class communicator who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
‘Dr. Oz will be a leader in driving disease prevention so that we achieve the best outcomes in the world for every dollar we spend on healthcare in our great country.
“He will also reduce waste and fraud within our nation’s most expensive government agency, which represents a third of our nation’s health care spending and a quarter of our entire national budget.”
Before running for Senate, Oz hosted the Dr. Oz Show and was a frequent guest on Oprah Winfrey’s show
Oz has been married to author and radio personality Lisa Lemole (left) since 1985.
‘I know Dr. Oz for many years, and I am confident he will fight to ensure everyone in America gets the best health care possible so our country can be great and healthy again!”
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administers the Medicare program and is also responsible for other services, such as inspecting nursing homes.
Overall, the agency provides coverage for one in two Americans abroad – in addition to Medicare, this includes Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Obamacare.
He will take over from Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, President Joe Biden’s nominee.
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