President-elect Trump Nominates Dr. Mehmet Oz as Head of CMS, Signals Shift in Health-Care Leadership

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ICARO Media Group
Politics
19/11/2024 22h07

**Trump Nominates Dr. Mehmet Oz to Lead CMS**

In a significant move, President-elect Donald Trump has announced the nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz as the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The CMS is responsible for managing health-care programs that cover around half of the American population, spanning Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Obamacare marketplace exchange, Healthcare.gov. This decision underscores the importance Trump places on health care, given that these programs account for approximately $1.6 trillion in spending, nearly a quarter of the entire federal budget.

Trump's choice of Dr. Oz, a well-known television personality and former Senate candidate, is already stirring discussions. Dr. Oz is renowned for his long-running daytime show, "The Dr. Oz Show," and was the Republican nominee for a Senate seat from Pennsylvania in 2022, though he was defeated by Democrat Sen. John Fetterman. Trump praised Dr. Oz's qualifications and television presence, describing him as an eminent physician and heart surgeon who has significantly contributed to promoting healthy living.

This announcement follows last week's reveal that Trump intends to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist, as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump's vision includes Dr. Oz working closely with Kennedy to address what he terms the 'illness industrial complex' and the chronic diseases it perpetuates.

Trump articulated his confidence in Dr. Oz's ability to reform the American healthcare system, which he described as broken and financially draining for the country. He emphasized that Dr. Oz would focus on disease prevention initiatives to ensure cost-effective health care while aiming to eliminate waste and fraud in the nation's most expensive government agency. The current CMS administrator is Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.

As this story continues to develop, updates are expected.

The views expressed in this article do not reflect the opinion of ICARO, or any of its affiliates.

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