President-elect, Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Mehmet Oz, a 64-year-old former heart surgeon and TV celebrity known as “Dr. Oz”, will head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The CMS provides health coverage for over 160 million Americans, almost half the population. The company employs around 6,700 people and spent $1.48 trillion last year, placing it among the largest healthcare service purchasers.
He ran for a Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2022 but was unsuccessful. He has no prior experience holding public office and has been a long-standing supporter of Trump. As CMS administrator, Oz will oversee a key federal agency central to U.S. healthcare policy.
Trump recently appointed several well-known figures to key government roles. He selected Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, and billionaire Elon Musk to head up the Department of Government Efficiency.