Trump picks Turkish-American doctor Mehmet Öz as Medicare, Medicaid admin
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced his intention to appoint Turkish American doctor Mehmet Öz as the administrator of the federal health insurance services Medicare and Medicaid.
Duvar English
Donald Trump, recently elected as the 47th President of the United States (U.S.), announced that he would nominate Mehmet Öz, a Turkish-American physician, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as part of his new administration's key team.
Trump is set to take office on Jan. 20, 2025.
In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Trump emphasized that America has been facing a severe health crisis and praised Öz as the most qualified doctor to tackle these challenges.
Referring to Öz’s educational background, starting from Harvard University, and his extensive medical career, Trump highlighted Öz’s potential to address many of the issues within the U.S. healthcare system.
In the U.S., Medicare is a federal health insurance program providing services to those over 65, while Medicaid is a joint federal and state program offering insurance to low-income individuals. In 2023, the federal government spent $860 billion on Medicaid and $848 billion on Medicare.
As the son of Turkish immigrants, Öz has been holding dual citizenship. He appeared as a health expert in TV shows for many years and hosted his own show.
Öz ran in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania as a conservative Republican but did not win the seat.