Mehmet Oz
Cardiothoracic surgeon and TV host who became administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in April 2025 after a 53-45 Senate vote; before 13 years of The Dr. Oz Show and a 2022 Senate run, he was a Harvard and UPenn-trained vice-chair of surgery at Columbia.
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- Country
- United States
- Known for
- Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) since April 2025; previously a cardiothoracic surgeon and the host of The Dr. Oz Show
- Education
- Harvard undergraduate degree (1982); joint M.D. and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton Business School (1986)
- Medical career
- Vice-Chair of Surgery and Professor of Cardiac Surgery at New York Presbyterian/Columbia; founder of the Complementary Medicine Program; Director of the Cardiovascular Institute
- Research record
- More than 400 publications, six New York Times bestselling books, six patents; research interests in minimally invasive cardiac surgery and healthcare policy
- Television career
- Health expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show from the 1990s; host of The Dr. Oz Show (2009–2022) for 13 seasons, with multiple Daytime Emmy Awards and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star
- Senate run
- 2022 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, endorsed by Donald Trump; lost to Democrat John Fetterman
- CMS appointment
- Nominated November 19, 2024; confirmed April 3, 2025 by a 53-45 party-line Senate vote; succeeds Chiquita Brooks-LaSure
- CMS scale
- Oversees Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and ACA marketplaces — coverage for more than 160 million Americans, about 6,500 employees and roughly $1.5 trillion in annual spending
Before he was “America’s doctor,” he was a vice-chair of surgery
Long before Mehmet Oz became a daytime-TV fixture, his résumé was the kind surgeons frame. His institutional biography lists a Harvard undergraduate degree in 1982 and a joint M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and MBA from the Wharton School in 1986 (World Economic Forum). At New York Presbyterian and Columbia University he rose to Vice-Chair of Surgery and Professor of Cardiac Surgery, founded the Complementary Medicine Program, and directed the Cardiovascular Institute (World Economic Forum). The record behind those titles is substantial: more than 400 publications, six patents, six New York Times bestselling books, and research interests spanning minimally invasive cardiac surgery and healthcare policy (World Economic Forum).
That academic spine is the part of Oz’s story his television fame mostly drowned out. He was a cardiothoracic surgeon first — a fact that matters for the job he holds now, running the federal agency that pays for much of the country’s heart surgery (Akron Beacon Journal (USA Today network)).
The television doctor
Oz’s public career began in the 1990s as a health expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where he made dozens of appearances and was eventually dubbed “America’s doctor” by Winfrey herself (Akron Beacon Journal (USA Today network)). In 2009 he launched The Dr. Oz Show with Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television; it ran for 13 seasons and won multiple Daytime Emmy Awards, and Oz earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Medical Economics).
The show also made him a magnet for criticism from within his own profession. In 2014 he testified before the U.S. Senate after being accused of false advertising for weight-loss supplements he had promoted on air (NPR). The following year, ten doctors wrote to Columbia University’s medical school urging it to dismiss him, arguing that much of his show’s advice was unsupported by scientific evidence and sometimes contradicted it (NPR). The Beacon Journal’s account of his career notes his promotion of malaria drugs for COVID-19 as “a theory that was debunked,” and his marketing of treatments “not backed by experts,” such as combining pregnancy hormones with a 500-calorie diet for weight loss (Akron Beacon Journal (USA Today network))(NPR).
The Senate run and the CMS nomination
In 2022 Oz ran as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, endorsed by Donald Trump in the primary; he lost to Democrat John Fetterman (NPR)(Akron Beacon Journal (USA Today network)). On the campaign trail he argued the government had “patronized and misled” the public during the COVID pandemic (NPR).
On November 19, 2024, President-elect Trump announced on Truth Social and in a press release that he would nominate Oz — then 64 — to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, saying “Dr. Oz will work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake” (NPR). CMS sits inside the Department of Health and Human Services and covers Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces — health coverage for more than 160 million Americans, run by roughly 6,500 employees spending about $1.5 trillion a year (Akron Beacon Journal (USA Today network))(NPR).
The nomination divided opinion along lines his career had already drawn. At his confirmation hearing he vowed to give patients more say in their care and crack down on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal health programs, pledging: “I commit to doing whatever I can, working tirelessly, to ensure that CMS provides Americans with access to superb care, especially Americans who are our most vulnerable — our young, our disabled and our elderly” (Akron Beacon Journal (USA Today network)). Supporters in Congress welcomed him: Rep. Brett Guthrie and Rep. Buddy Carter called him “an accomplished physician, an innovator, and a world-class communicator, who will help modernize the agency” (Medical Economics). Critics answered in kind. Sen. Ron Wyden called him “yet another slick salesman peddling unproven cures and treatments” (Medical Economics), the watchdog Accountable.US warned about his support for privatizing Medicare through Medicare Advantage plans (NPR), and Georgetown health-law scholar Lawrence Gostin called him “unfit” to run CMS (NPR).
On April 3, 2025, the Senate confirmed Oz 53-45, strictly along party lines, succeeding Chiquita Brooks-LaSure (Akron Beacon Journal (USA Today network)).
America.gov, on stage
Oz’s most visible public act as administrator came a day before this profile was written. On September 29, 2026, the Trump administration launched America.gov, an AI-powered federal portal meant to be a single front door to government services (WUTV (TNND/Fox affiliate network)). Onstage at the launch event, Oz demonstrated how Americans could use the site to sign up for Medicare (WUTV (TNND/Fox affiliate network)). He brought a woman named Lisa onstage, who revealed her newly issued Medicare beneficiary card after spending more than a year trying to enroll (WUTV (TNND/Fox affiliate network)). America.gov “explains what applies to Lisa’s situation and guides her through the decisions,” Oz said — the TV doctor’s stagecraft, now deployed for a government enrollment drive (WUTV (TNND/Fox affiliate network)). At the same event, Marco Rubio demonstrated online passport applications, and Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to integrate with the portal (WUTV (TNND/Fox affiliate network)).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not state Oz’s exact birth date or birthplace — no fully-read source confirmed them; NPR reports only that he was 64 at his November 2024 nomination. It does not assert Turkish heritage or dual citizenship, which appeared only in search snippets never read in full. It does not resolve the Daytime Emmy count (NPR says nine, other sources say ten) and says only “multiple.” It makes no claim about whether his surgical license or Columbia appointment remain active. The quoted criticisms — hydroxychloroquine “without evidence,” the 2014 Senate testimony, the ten-doctors letter, Wyden’s “slick salesman,” Gostin’s “unfit,” Community Catalyst’s “grave threat” — are presented as the attributed statements of their speakers, not as the profile’s own judgments. One planned source on his early biography failed to load with a local fetch error and was not retried; its claims were excluded rather than inferred.
Timeline
- 1982
- Graduates from Harvard University as an undergraduate.
- 1986
- Earns a joint M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an MBA from the Wharton Business School.
- 1994
- Establishes Columbia's Integrative Medicine Program (described in his institutional bio as the Complementary Medicine Program), alongside his surgical practice.
- 2009
- Launches The Dr. Oz Show with Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television; it runs for 13 seasons, winning multiple Daytime Emmy Awards.
- 2014
- Testifies before the U.S. Senate after being accused of false advertising for weight-loss supplements promoted on his show.
- 2015
- Ten doctors write a letter urging Columbia University's medical school to dismiss him, arguing that much of his show's advice was unsupported by scientific evidence.
- 2022
- Runs as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, endorsed by Donald Trump; loses to Democrat John Fetterman.
- 2024
- On November 19, President-elect Donald Trump announces Oz as his nominee to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
- 2025
- On April 3 the Senate confirms Oz as CMS administrator on a 53-45 vote split along party lines; he succeeds Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.
- 2026
- On September 29, at the launch event for the America.gov AI portal, Oz demonstrates how Americans can sign up for Medicare on the site, bringing a woman named Lisa onstage whose year-long struggle to enroll had just ended.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Exact birth date and birthplace: no fully-read source confirms them; NPR reports he was 64 at his November 2024 nomination, so the profile states only that age framing
- Turkish heritage and any dual citizenship: search-snippet-level only; not asserted
- Precise Emmy count: NPR reports nine Daytime Emmys; other sources say ten; the profile states only 'multiple' and does not resolve the discrepancy
- Whether his surgical license or Columbia appointment remain active: not verified in a fully-read source; not asserted
- Specific 2026 CMS rulemakings (outpatient payment, drug-price negotiation, Medicaid community-engagement rules): real comment letters address him as Administrator, but the underlying rules were not read in full; not asserted
- '17th administrator' numbering: Wikipedia-snippet only; not asserted
Sources
5 sources (2 tier 1, 3 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
- Supports: The April 3, 2025 confirmation — 53-45, along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition; confirmation-hearing vows to give patients more say and crack down on fraud, waste and abuse; his quote committing to "superb care" for the vulnerable; CMS under HHS led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and covering 160M+ Americans; cardiothoracic surgeon before Oprah, host of The Dr. Oz Show, hydroxychloroquine promotion described as a debunked theory, weight-loss-product criticism, and the 2022 Pennsylvania Senate loss. Open original source
- Supports: The November 19, 2024 nomination announcement (Truth Social and press release); the Trump quote on working with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "to take on the illness industrial complex"; CMS's scope (Medicare, Medicaid, ACA marketplaces); Harvard and joint UPenn M.D./MBA credentials; nine Daytime Emmys; Oprah Show origins; the vaccine-denialist-platform and hydroxychloroquine criticisms; the 2022 Senate run and Trump endorsement with the Fetterman loss; the "patronized and misled" COVID quote; 2014 Senate testimony; the 2015 ten-doctors letter to Columbia; the iHerb global-adviser role; Gostin's "unfit" assessment; Pallone and Crapo statements; the Accountable.US statement on Medicare Advantage; CMS at ~6,500 employees and ~$1.5 trillion a year. Open original source
- Mehmet C. Oz Tier 2Supports: The academic-surgical record — Harvard 1982; joint MD/MBA from UPenn School of Medicine and Wharton 1986; Vice-Chair of Surgery and Professor of Cardiac Surgery at New York Presbyterian/Columbia; Founder of the Complementary Medicine Program; Director of the Cardiovascular Institute; Emmy-winning host of The Dr. Oz Show; minimally invasive cardiac surgery and healthcare policy research interests; board and society memberships; 400+ publications, six NYT bestselling books, six patents. Open original source
- Supports: Post-confirmation reactions — succeeding Chiquita Brooks-LaSure; 13 years of The Dr. Oz Show with Emmys and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star; the Guthrie/Carter joint statement calling him "an accomplished physician, an innovator, and a world-class communicator"; Wyden's "slick salesman peddling unproven cures" floor statement; Community Catalyst's "grave threat to Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act" warning; the NACDS pharmacy-benefit-manager reform angle. Open original source
- Supports: The September 29, 2026 America.gov launch event — Oz's onstage demonstration of Medicare enrollment on the site; the woman named Lisa, her year-long struggle to enroll, and her newly issued Medicare beneficiary card; Oz's quote that America.gov "explains what applies to Lisa's situation and guides her through the decisions"; [Marco Rubio](/people/marco-rubio/)' passport demo at the same event; the executive order directing agencies to integrate with America.gov. Open original source
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