Washington, Nov 20 (IANS) US President-elect Donald Trump named Mehmet Oz, a physician and a TV personality, to his team as his nominee to head the Medicaid and Medicare Services, the federal government's healthcare programme for the old and needy.
Oz used to host a popular TV show on health and ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate from Pennsylvania in 2022.
"I am very pleased to nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, " Trump said in an announcement on Tuesday.
"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."
Trump has named Kennedy, who belongs to the famed Kennedy clan and is the son of Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F Kennedy, to head the health and human services. Kennedy had run for the Democratic party nomination against President Joe Biden but turned independent and then, finally, quit the race and threw his support behind Trump.
He has controversial views about vaccinations and has threatened to shut down several federal health agencies, disagreeing with their agenda and intent.
"Our broken Healthcare System harms everyday Americans and crushes our country's budget. Dr Oz will be a leader in incentivising 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."
Trump's announcement said 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, which the President-elect said was "my powerful alma mater."
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.
Oz won nine Daytime Emmy Awards hosting "The Dr. Oz Show, " in which, the announcement said, 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."
Trump added in conclusion, "I have known Dr. Oz for many years, and I am confident he will fight to ensure everyone in America receives the best possible Healthcare so our Country can be Great and Healthy Again!"