Mehmet Oz Confirmed to Lead Medicare Oversight Agency Amid Controversy

Health 11:32 04.04.2025

Celebrity doctor and former TV host Mehmet Oz has been confirmed by the US Senate to run the agency that oversees the healthcare of millions of Americans.

Oz, who has never held public office, was picked last year by President Donald Trump to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

On Thursday, he was confirmed to the role by the Republican-controlled US Senate by a party-line vote of 53-45.

The 64-year-old, whose approaches have come under scrutiny, trained as a surgeon before finding fame on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the early 2000s.

Health experts have previously criticised Oz's promotion of what they deem to be bad health advice about weight-loss drugs and "miracle cures", and for suggesting malaria drugs could be used as a cure for Covid-19 at the start of the pandemic.

After picking Oz to lead CMS, Trump said in a statement there "there may be no physician more qualified and capable to make America healthy again".

Ahead of his inauguration, Trump's transition team said Oz would "work closely" with US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to "take on the illness industrial complex".

The CMS oversees the country's largest healthcare programs, providing coverage to roughly half of Americans.

It regulates health insurance and sets policy that guides the prices that doctors, hospitals and drug companies are paid for medical services.
In 2023, the US government spent more than $1.4tn  on Medicaid and Medicare combined, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Oz also hosted The Dr Oz Show, in which he offered health advice to viewers, from 2009 to 2022.

But he was scrutinised for recommending homeopathy, alternative medicine and other treatments that critics have called "pseudoscience".
Democrats have previously claimed a review of his financial records suggests Oz may not have paid $403,739 in Medicare taxes on more than $10 million of income from his media company between 2021 to 2023.

However, a spokesperson for Oz said a review by the Office of Government Ethics found he had complied with the law.

Madina Mammadova\\EDnews

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

Kallas: Baku-Yerevan normalization could pave way for lasting peace in South Caucasus
14:30 30.06.2025
Sahiba Gafarova to participate in Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan interparliamentary forum in Khiva
14:30 30.06.2025
First-ever ECO Women Forum to be held in Azerbaijan's Lachin
14:15 30.06.2025
MP: Violence and brutality committed against Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg is unacceptable
14:00 30.06.2025
EPF: France placing radioactive waste on Armenia's territory, close to conditional border with Azerbaijan
13:45 30.06.2025
Twice-a-year shot could transform HIV prevention, but can the world afford it?
13:25 30.06.2025
Telangana chemical factory blast in India kills 10, injures dozens
13:15 30.06.2025
Average salary in Baku increases by more than 8%
13:05 30.06.2025
Azerbaijan relocates 37 more families to Kangarli village of Aghdam district
12:55 30.06.2025
German foreign minister arrives in Kyiv
12:25 30.06.2025
Officials confirm 6 were killed in Howland plane crash in US
12:15 30.06.2025
Bodies of Safarov brothers, killed in Yekaterinburg, to be brought to Azerbaijan today
12:05 30.06.2025
Norwegian fund drops US, German companies over sales to Israeli military
11:55 30.06.2025
ASAN service model to be implemented in Rwanda
11:35 30.06.2025
Politico: US and India could sign trade deal in fall
11:25 30.06.2025
Yuriy Husyev: Ukraine strongly condemns repressive actions against Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg
11:15 30.06.2025
Azerbaijani minister of agriculture participates in FAO Special Ministerial Event
11:05 30.06.2025
Forces in Russian political elite trying to spoil relations with Azerbaijan
10:55 30.06.2025
Somali army kills over 37 al-Shabaab terrorists in southern region
10:35 30.06.2025
British rap duo who chanted ‘Death to the IDF’ may be barred from entering US
10:25 30.06.2025
Australian band backs UK artists on Palestinians
10:15 30.06.2025
Russia, North Korea discuss cultural cooperation amid deepening ties
10:05 30.06.2025
Uganda’s long-serving President Museveni signals intent to seek reelection
09:50 30.06.2025
Beijing opposes 'any' trade deal agreed at 'expense' of China’s interests
09:30 30.06.2025
Pakistan flash floods, heavy rain kill 45 in just days
09:20 30.06.2025
State committee: Publication of fake Telegram channel - provocation against Azerbaijan in Russia
09:10 30.06.2025
President of İEPF Umud Mirzayev Appeals to Putin: "Such actions undermine the spirit of friendship between our people""
23:31 28.06.2025
Celebrating the 85th Anniversary of Professor Muhammad Yunuscial Business – Nobel Laureate and Pioneer of Social Business
15:42 28.06.2025
EU to provide Kyiv with €30.6B in support in 2025
16:40 27.06.2025
Simon Stiell calls for global cooperation in face of climate crisis
16:00 27.06.2025
IDF says fighter jets struck Hezbollah facility in southern Lebanon
15:40 27.06.2025
President Ilham Aliyev received credentials of incoming ambassador of Poland
15:05 27.06.2025
Masked Special Forces of Armenia's National Security Service enter territory of Garegin II’s residence
14:55 27.06.2025
Hungary blocks talks on Ukraine’s accession to EU
14:35 27.06.2025
Israel sums up operation against Iran: 11 scientists, about 300 IRGC members killed
14:05 27.06.2025
Trump says his duties bring US $88B in revenue
13:55 27.06.2025
Snow falls in world’s driest desert in Chile
13:25 27.06.2025
Release from the Press Service of the President
13:00 27.06.2025
Australia to prioritize 'national interest' over defense spending, says premier, resists US pressure
12:35 27.06.2025
Chairman of Committee: 'There are broad, strong ties of cooperation, solidarity among religious confessions in Azerbaijan'
12:25 27.06.2025
Hamısı