Washington DC [US], November 20 : United States President-elect Donald Trump nominated renowned heart surgeon Dr Mehmet Oz to serve as the country's Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
CMS is the federal agency that provides health coverage to more than 160 million through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplace in the United States.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Trump said, "I am very pleased to nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator. America is facing a Healthcare Crisis, and there may be no Physician more qualified and capable than Dr. Oz to Make America Healthy Again. He is an eminent Physician, Heart Surgeon, Inventor, and World-Class Communicator, who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades. 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."
"Our broken Healthcare System harms everyday Americans, and crushes our Country's budget. 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 Healthcare in our Great Country. He will also cut waste and fraud within our Country's most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation's Healthcare spend, and a quarter of our entire National Budget," the statement added.
Dr Oz expressed his gratitude for the nomination, stating that he looks forward to serving the country and making America healthy again under the leadership of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Sharing a post on X, Dr Mehmet Oz wrote, "I am honored to be nominated by @realDonaldTrump to lead CMS. I look forward to serving my country to Make America Healthy Again under the leadership of HHS Secretary @RobertKennedyJr."
Robert F Kennedy also shared a post on X and wrote, "Very excited that my friend @DrOz has agreed to run CMS. Thank you @realDonaldTrump for this outstanding nomination. Welcome Dr . Oz to The Avengers. Let's Make America Healthy Again!"
https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1859010148477661273
Notably, Dr. Oz graduated from Harvard College and earned a joint MD and MBA degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton Business School. He rose to become a Professor of Surgery at Columbia University, while receiving numerous patents on his medical inventions, authoring more than 400 original publications, and publishing numerous New York Times Best Selling books.
He won nine Daytime Emmy Awards hosting "The Dr. Oz Show," where he taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices, and gave a strong voice to the key pillars of the MAHA Movement. Dr. Oz and his wife, Lisa, expanded this effort by founding HealthCorps, a non-profit that has improved the lives of millions of underserved teens Nationwide over the past two decades.
Donald Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 295 electoral votes in the 2024 presidential election, defeating Democratic rival Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 votes. Following his victory, President-elect Donald Trump has moved swiftly with finalising his foreign policy and national security team ahead of his formal inauguration in January 2025.