The US Senate has confirmed Mehmet Oz, a celebrity physician and former television broadcaster, to lead the organisation that manages the health care of millions of Americans. President Donald Trump appointed Oz, who has never served in public office, to head the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) last year.
By a party-line vote of 53-45 on Thursday, the Republican-controlled US Senate approved him to the position. The 64-year-old, whose methods have drawn criticism, was a trained surgeon before becoming well-known on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the early 2000s.
Health professionals have previously condemned Oz for promoting what they consider to be harmful health advice regarding “miracle cures” and weight-loss medications, as well as for implying that malaria medications could be used to treat COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic. Trump claimed in a statement after appointing Oz to head CMS that “no doctor may be more qualified and capable…to make America healthy again.
Trump’s transition team announced ahead of his inauguration that Oz will “take on the illness industrial complex” by “working closely” with US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. About half of all Americans are covered by the major healthcare programs in the nation, which CMS manages.
Also Read:
At the Abu Dhabi Training Center, Sheikh Hamdan Serves Iftar to National Service Recruits
Shareholders of Air Arabia Authorize a 25% Dividend Payment
