Table of Contents
- 1 “Dr. Oz” heads health authority? Democrats worried about Trump pick
- 2 Republicans are apparently happy with Trump’s selection
- 3 Trump administration: “Dr. Oz” called for expanding Medicare Advantage
- 4 Opponents of vaccinations without experience? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Trump’s Health Department
- 5 Weight loss diet and nutritional supplements: Trump’s “Dr. Oz” over twelve years with a TV show
- 6 Donald Trump nominates a cabinet full of scandalous surprises
- 7 Oz advocated for controversial drug during Corona virus
- 8 Shock or gain? Trump’s nomination of Oz divides opinion
- 9 **Do you believe your background as a television personality, where entertainment value might sometimes supersede scientific rigor, has equipped you effectively for formulating and advocating for health policy?**
PressSplit
Trump wants to make Mehmet Oz head of the major US health agency CMS. But Oz holds controversial views. Democrats are alarmed.
Washington, DC – Popular television doctor and former Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz is set to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Donald Trump decided that. The federal agency, the “Dr. Oz” is responsible for the health insurance of more than 160 million Americans.
“Dr. Oz will play a leading role in the prevention of diseases so that we get the best results in the world for every dollar we spend on health care across our great country,” Trump said in a statement.
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Democrats immediately criticized Trump’s announcement, saying that Oz’s background left him ill-prepared for the job of leading the CMS’s vast bureaucracy.
So did Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-New Jersey). He is the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This monitors the CMS. He referred to this as a “workhorse agency”. It helps provide health care to low-income Americans, older Americans, children and other vulnerable populations.
“I am disturbed that President-elect Trump has chosen a television celebrity without the experience or background to lead this agency,” Pallone said in a statement.
Mehmet Oz is a cardiologist and television presenter. © IMAGO/Diannie Chavez/The Republic
Republicans are apparently happy with Trump’s selection
Republicans, however, praised Oz and pointed to the cardiothoracic surgeon’s qualifications. They pointed out that he was almost elected to the Senate two years ago. However, he lost to Senator John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania).
“Oz strikes me as a qualified man,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina). Oz earned medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and was a professor at Columbia University.
Oz seems to me to be a qualified man.
If confirmed by the Senate, Oz would oversee Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. The CMS is responsible for more than $1 trillion in annual spending. Republicans have demanded that the CMS take action against alleged waste and abuse. These have long been associated with the CMS.
Trump reiterated those demands, promising that Oz would curb “waste and fraud within our nation’s most expensive government agency.”
Trump administration: “Dr. Oz” called for expanding Medicare Advantage
As a Senate candidate in 2022, Oz called for expanding Medicare Advantage — an offshoot of traditional Medicare. It allows older Americans to enroll in privately insured health insurance plans. About 33 million Americans are covered by Medicare Advantage, slightly more than traditional Medicare.
Conservatives have championed the plans, which offer more benefits than traditional Medicare. But the program has been criticized by Democrats and patient advocates. They argue that private insurers bill the federal government excessively for services and too often deny patients treatment.
Opponents of vaccinations without experience? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Trump’s Health Department
The CMS Director reports to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the position. This choice also worries public health leaders. Kennedy has long criticized vaccines. Pallone and other Democrats see a connection between Kennedy and Oz. They both lack the experience to lead one of the largest government agencies.
During Trump’s first term in office, the CMS was targeted by Republicans. They tried to overturn the Affordable Care Act. After that attempt failed in 2017, they moved to roll back some of the Democrats’ initiatives to boost enrollment in that law’s health care programs.
Trump allies and Republican lawmakers are toying with changes to Medicaid, calling the coverage program inefficient. They looked for ways to offset potential tax cuts.
Republican lawmakers put pressure on the CMS that same year. The basis was reports of fraudulent registrations on the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces. There were also alleged fraudulent billings for durable medical equipment.
Representative Frank Pallone Jr. © Michael Brochstein/Imago
Weight loss diet and nutritional supplements: Trump’s “Dr. Oz” over twelve years with a TV show
Oz gained national attention for his appearances as a health expert on Oprah Winfrey’s television show. He then got his own Winfrey-backed TV show. It debuted in 2009 and ran for more than a dozen years.
Part of the show were crude allegations. For example, it was about weight loss cures and nutritional supplements. Health experts criticized the broadcast. And Oprah Winfrey endorsed Fetterman in Oz’s place in the 2022 Senate race.
That means people like you.
Trump, who has long said he was a fan of Oz’s television appearances, named him a member of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. President Joe Biden fired him in 2022.
“You know, when you’re on TV for 18 years, it’s like a poll,” Trump said in April 2022, endorsing Oz in his Senate campaign against Fetterman. “It means people like you.”
Donald Trump nominates a cabinet full of scandalous surprises
View photo series
Oz advocated for controversial drug during Corona virus
Oz urged government officials in 2020 to approve the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment. Trump publicly promoted the drug despite health officials repeatedly warning that it was unproven as a possible treatment for the virus.
“We have a potential pandemic solution at hand,” Oz wrote to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on March 23, 2020. Kushner was a senior adviser in the White House at the time, according to documents released by House Democrats in 2022.
The TV host cited data from a French scientist that “after six days of treatment, 100 percent of trial patients were virus-free” and said a U.S. trial of the drug should be a “national priority.”
A spokeswoman for Oz said in 2022 that the doctor’s interest in hydroxychloroquine was driven by his desire to find treatments for the novel coronavirus.
Shock or gain? Trump’s nomination of Oz divides opinion
Some health groups congratulated Oz on his nomination. “We look forward to working with the government to improve Americans’ health care and protect around-the-clock patient care,” the Federation of American Hospitals, an association of for-profit hospitals, said in a statement.
However, others described Oz’s nomination as a shocking departure. “At this rate, they should rename the ministry the Ministry of Hydroxychloroquine, Homeopathy and Dietary Supplements,” Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit organization focused on food and health safety, said in a statement.
Liz Goodwin contributed to this report.
Dan Diamond is a national health reporter for The Washington Post. He joined the Post in 2021 after working for five years at Politico, where he won the George Polk Award for his research on the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on November 20, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com“ was published – as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.
**Do you believe your background as a television personality, where entertainment value might sometimes supersede scientific rigor, has equipped you effectively for formulating and advocating for health policy?**
## Interview Questions: Dr. Mehmet Oz and His Controversial Career
This interview will be structured
**Section 1: Media Influence and Public Trust**
* Dr. Oz gained fame through his television show, which often gave advice on health and wellness. Some criticize the show for promoting questionable health claims. How do you balance the responsibility of sharing health information with the public while also maintaining scientific accuracy?
* Your show was popular, and many viewers, including then-President Trump, seemed to trust your advice. How do you respond to critiques that your platform contributed to the spread of misinformation or pseudoscience?
* Do you think famous people like yourself have a responsibility to be careful about what they promote, especially on health-related matters?
**Section 2: Hydroxychloroquine Controversy**
* In 2020, you advocated for the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. This was controversial at the time, with many health professionals expressing concern about its effectiveness and potential side effects . Looking back, do you regret advocating for its use?
* What led you to believe hydroxychloroquine could be an effective treatment?
* How do you balance the urgency of finding treatments during a pandemic with the importance of scientific evidence and rigorous testing?
**Section 3: Political Aspirations and Health Policy**
* You were nominated by President Trump to serve on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, and later ran for Senate. What motivates you to pursue a career in politics?
* Some health organizations were critical of your nomination to the council, citing concerns about your past pronouncements on health issues. How would you respond to these concerns?
* What are your views on current healthcare challenges facing the United States?
**Section 4: Legacy and Reflection**
* How would you like to be remembered by the public?
* What lessons have you learned throughout your career, both from your successes and your failures?
* What advice would you give to young people aspiring to careers in medicine or public health?
These questions aim to encourage a nuanced discussion about Dr. Oz’s career, highlighting both his positive contributions and the controversies he has been involved in. The goal is to understand his perspective while also acknowledging the complexities of his public persona.
