On November 19, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Mehmet Oz (Dr. Oz) to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Oz is a 64-year old cardiothoracic surgeon most commonly known for his health-focused TV talk show, “Dr. Oz”. Trump announced the nomination on social media, stating“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.”
CMS oversees Medicare and Medicaid, two programs that jointly provide health insurance for over 140 million Americans. CMS also handles much of the enrollment in income-based government-subsidized health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
While Oz has had a lengthy career as a surgeon and talk show host, he has come under fire for giving health advice on his TV show which was unsupported by scientific evidence. On and off the air, Oz has been critical of the federal government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he says inspired his unsuccessful bid for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022. During his campaign, Oz supported the concept of fully privatizing Medicare, which he referred to as “Medicare Advantage for All”. Oz reportedly owns UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health (which owns Aetna) stocks, and both companies, as large players in the Medicare Advantage market, could stand to gain from a fully-privatized Medicare program.