Trump Picks Dr. Oz As Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services Administrator

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will nominate celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 

The Details: Trump announced Dr. Oz as his pick for CMS administrator in a statement Tuesday afternoon. 

"Our broken Healthcare System harms everyday Americans, and crushes our country's budget," Trump said. 

"Dr. Oz will be a leader in incentivizing disease prevention, so we get the best results in the world for every dollar we spend on health care in our Great Country," Trump said. "He will also cut waste and fraud within our country's most expensive government agency, which is a third of our nation's health care spend, and a quarter of our entire national budget."

Read More: Trump Appears ‘Frustrated’ As Elon Musk Chimes In On Treasury Secretary, Adds More Names To Short List 

Dr. Oz has a history of offering unproven medical advice and has said his goal was to "empower" Americans to take control of their health, according to the New York Times. He promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine as an effective treatment against COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic, before reversing course and advising patients to wait for evidence from randomized trials. 

CMS, an agency within the Health and Human Services Department (HHS), oversees several major health care programs including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Healthcare.gov insurance marketplace exchange. Federal spending on the four programs is $1.6 trillion, or nearly 25% of the entire federal budget.

Last week, Trump announced his intention to nominate another controversial figure, Robert Kennedy Jr., to head the HHS.  Other unconventional selections include Trump's choices of former Rep. Matt Gaetz for U.S. attorney general and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure is the current CMS administrator under the Biden administration. 

Following Trump’s announcement, investors may want to monitor shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH, the largest Medicare Advantage insurer nationwide, and shares of Elevance Health, Inc. ELV, one of the largest Medicaid insurers.

Read More: 

• Trump’s Potential ‘Health Czar’ Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Rattles Vaccine Stocks: ‘Shoot First Reaction’

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