News

From “Magic Weight-Loss Beans” To Hydroxychloroquine To Selenium Supplements, Dr. Oz Promotes “Scientifically Dubious Theories”

Yesterday, Donald Trump nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Between Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and the Affordable Care Act, over 160 million Americans rely on CMS for their health care. Dr. Oz supports efforts to privatize Medicare and has said that he would have voted against the Affordable Care Act (ACA). His proposals threaten to raise costs and put health care for millions at risk. Instead of nominating someone with experience, Trump chose a dishonest, celebrity medical professional who is most known for promoting scams. The American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics has called him “a dangerous rogue unfit for the office of America’s doctor.” Between the nominations of Dr. Oz and RFK Jr., it is clear Donald Trump is building a cabinet that mirrors himself: incompetent, inexperienced, and unqualified.

HEADLINES

Washington Post: What to Know About Dr. Oz, the TV Physician Trump Tapped to Run Medicare. 

• “Throughout his television career, Oz broached controversial topics in segments that sparked backlash, and he broadcast products and advice that critics said were not backed by evidence. A feature on gay conversion therapy that asked viewers, “Is there a gay cure?” was slammed by LGBTQ+ groups.”
• “A group of doctors unsuccessfully pushed Columbia University to cut ties with Oz over his statements against genetically modified foods. He promoted a green coffee bean “miracle pill” to lose weight before the company behind the product was sued by the Federal Trade Commission over bogus claims.”
• “In 2014, a study in the British Medical Journal found that more than half the recommendations made on “The Dr. Oz Show” were either not backed up by, or contradicted, scientific research.”

The Independent: From ‘Magic’ Weight-Loss Coffee Beans To Red Onion Stopping Cancer: Dr Oz’s History Of Baseless Medical Claims. 

• “He went on to host his own program, The Dr Oz Show, where he spouted other dangerously misleading claims ranging from ‘magic’ coffee beans to spur weight loss and selenium supplements to prevent cancer. A 2017 paper published by the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics called him ‘a dangerous rogue unfit for the office of America’s doctor.’”

STAT: Trump Picks Dr. Oz to Lead Medicare and Medicaid.

• “Oz has faced Senate grilling before for his promotion of weight-loss products on his show. He told senators in 2014 that his image and quotes were used unfairly to hawk scam products.”
• “Throughout his career, Oz has oscillated between spouting scientific misinformation and taking evidence-based and nuanced stances that place him well outside the Republic mainstream.”
• “But since entering the world of high-profile Republican politics, he has proved his willingness to toe the party line, perhaps most notably via his newfound vitriol for Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases. On Valentine’s Day 2022, during a heated Republican primary against David McCormick (now senator-elect), Oz wrote in a social media post: ‘Roses are red, violets are blue, Dr. Fauci lied to you.’”

Axios: Trump Picks Dr. Oz to Run Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

• “Oz is a household name and became a Trump world ally during a failed 2022 Senate run. But he has no experience running a large government bureaucracy like CMS, which administers Medicare and Medicaid and conducts other services like inspecting nursing homes.”
• “He came to national prominence as Oprah’s go-to health guru, and later hosted his own long-running talk show. Oz has repeatedly drawn criticism over the years, including from fellow medical professionals, for espousing scientifically dubious theories and promoting treatments with no documented efficacy.”

New York Times: Trump Plans to Nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz to Oversee Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare.

• “Dr. Oz has also frequently clashed with other medical experts. In the early days of the pandemic, he promoted the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to ward off the coronavirus, medicines that were shown to be ineffective in treating the virus. A decade ago, he went before a Senate panel and was chastised for hyping so-called miracle weight loss products without substantial proof that they worked.”

Reuters: Trump Picks TV’s Dr. Oz to Run Medicare and Medicaid.

• “Oz was a regular Fox News commentator during the COVID-19 pandemic and a proponent of unproven treatments for COVID-19 including hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug whose use against the disease was also backed by Trump. ”

CNN: Trump Names Dr. Mehmet Oz to Head Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

• “The CMS administrator is expected to play an important role in the second Trump administration since Republicans are expected to propose changes to Medicaid, which they have sought to shrink in the past. Plus, the White House and GOP lawmakers will have to decide what to do next year about the enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025.”
• “Oz, who is an advocate of alternative medicines and treatments, has been skewered by the medical community for years. In 2015, a group of physicians wrote Columbia University, saying they were “dismayed” Oz was a member of the school’s faculty. And in 2014, Oz was scolded by senators during a congressional hearing over his promotion of weight-loss products on his television show.”

COMMENTARY

Senator Patty Murray, President Pro Tempore, (D-WA): “Dr. Oz has zero qualifications, pushes alarming pseudoscience, & holds extreme anti-abortion views. CMS is a critical agency & we need serious leaders to protect Americans’ health care and bring down costs—not TV hosts whose main qualification is their loyalty to Trump.”

Senator Ron Wyden, Senate Finance Committee Chair, (D-OR): “Trump’s health care agenda is all about empowering fraudsters and big business while everyday Americans are stuck with the bill. Dr. Oz is no stranger to peddling nonsense to innocent Americans without facing consequences. This is one of the most consequential positions in American government, touching millions of seniors and families who count on Medicare and Medicaid for affordable health care. Americans deserve a leader at CMS who will stand up to Big Pharma and insurance fraudsters who are misleading seniors and denying them essential health care, and I’m not sure a talk show host is up for the fight. I’m especially concerned about rural communities that count on Medicaid for affordable health care for kids and families – you can’t have rural life without rural health care.”

Rep. Frank Pallone, Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member, (D-NJ-06): “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is a workhorse agency. It helps ensure access to health care for millions of Americans, including our nation’s seniors, our children, and the poorest Americans. Given the crucial importance of this agency, I am alarmed that President-elect Trump has chosen a TV celebrity without the experience or background to lead it. Unfortunately, this nomination further demonstrates that Trump is not concerned about Americans’ health care. By nominating both RFK, Jr. and Dr. Oz, Trump is doubling down on leaders that peddle in dangerous misinformation that endangers public health.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “Running Medicare and Medicaid for over 100 million Americans isn’t like hosting a daytime talk show. Dr. Oz is another rich guy who doesn’t care if your health care costs go up or an insurance company denies you coverage. These decisions have life and death consequences.”

Washington, D.C. — Today, Donald Trump took another disastrous step to undermine the health of the American people by nominating Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). More than 160 million Americans depend on programs administered by CMS for their health care. Medicare covers more than 66 million Americans and Medicaid and CHIP cover nearly 80 million more. Dr. Oz is a sham medical professional who rose to fame promoting health scams on television and, despite residing in New Jersey, ran a failed campaign for Senate in Pennsylvania. He is notorious for popularizing dishonest, anti-science beliefs and flip-flopping on policy to promote his own self-interests. In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement: 

“Once again, Trump shows us he cares more about celebrity than competence. Not since the Wizard of Oz himself has there been a bigger fraud than this guy. Dr. Oz is wholly and deeply unqualified to lead CMS, and his incompetence would put more than 140 million Americans who rely on Medicare and Medicaid at risk. During his run for U.S. Senate, he called the Affordable Care Act the ‘wrong’ system. He exploited the public’s trust in him as a doctor to push quack medical cures, such as fad diets and the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, in order to line his own pockets. He is a grifter and a threat to public health. Dr. Oz and RFK Jr. at the helm of our country’s health care administration will only lead us into a disaster unlike any other. The American people deserve better than this clown show running American health care.”

“A Clear And Present Danger To Public Health” and “Extraordinarily Bad Choice” Set To Regulate Health Sector – Over 17 Percent Of The U.S. Economy

Last night, Donald Trump moved to undermine the health care of millions of Americans and the public health of our nation by nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. RFK Jr. is a MAGA loyalist that will put the personal interests of Donald Trump ahead of the needs of the American people. Headlines across the nation make clear that, as a known conspiracy theorist with dangerous anti-science and anti-vaccination policy positions, RFK Jr. is unqualified to lead HHS and radically out of step with the American people. If he gets confirmed, American lives will be at risk. 

HEADLINES

Axios: RFK Jr. Pick Sets Off Alarms In Public Health. 

• “’To put it plainly, RFK Jr. is deeply unqualified, deeply unserious, and deeply dangerous. This nomination would be a joke if it wasn’t so deadly serious and every United States Senator who cares about the health of their constituents should oppose it,’ Brad Woodhouse, executive director of the advocacy group Protect Our Care, said in a statement.”

Inside Health Policy: RFK Jr., Trump’s Choice To Lead HHS, Sets Stage For Health Information War. 

• “‘If RFK Jr. becomes Secretary of HHS, millions of American lives will be at risk. Full stop,” Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, said in a statement. “The selection of Kennedy to lead HHS is a devastating choice for the health and well-being of the American people, especially children. The consequences of this nomination will touch nearly every household in the nation.’”

The Washington Post: Trump Taps Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vaccine Skeptic, To Lead HHS. 

• “‘If Trump gets his way, millions of Americans will lose access to critical care they need to stay healthy, disproportionately impacting people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, seniors, women, and people with disabilities,’ Leslie Dach and Brad Woodhouse, who lead Protect Our Care, a Democrat-aligned health-care advocacy group, wrote in a memo this month.”

The Guardian: RFK Jr Condemned As ‘Clear And Present Danger’ After Trump Nomination.

• “Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr as US secretary of health and human services has prompted widespread criticisms towards Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist who has embraced a slew of other debunked health-related conspiracy theories.Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr as US secretary of health and human services has prompted widespread criticisms towards Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist who has embraced a slew of other debunked health-related conspiracy theories.”
• “In response to Kennedy’s nomination, Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit organization focusing on consumer advocacy, said: ‘Robert F Kennedy Jr is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health. He shouldn’t be allowed in the building at the department of health and human services (HHS), let alone be placed in charge of the nation’s public health agency. ‘Donald Trump’s bungling of public health policy during the Covid pandemic cost hundreds of thousands of lives. By appointing Kennedy as his secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another, policy-driven public health catastrophe,” the organization added.”

Newsweek: RFK Jr. Appointment Leaves Doctors Aghast: ‘Extraordinarily Bad Choice’.

• “The appointment of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Donald Trump’s Cabinet as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has left many doctors and medical professionals stunned, with one calling it an ‘extraordinarily bad choice.’”
• “Following the decision by the president-elect, many medical professionals were left aghast that a man who has previously been accused of amplifying conspiracy theories—most notably about the COVID vaccine—could potentially be in charge of the health of 350 million Americans from January if he is confirmed by the Senate. ‘I think this is an extraordinarily bad choice,’ Dr. Ashish Jha, a former Biden administration COVID-19 coordinator and the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Jha also noted that past HHS secretaries from both Republican and Democratic administrations have typically allowed scientists in their agencies to make decisions based on evidence. ‘RFK Jr. has signaled that he doesn’t intend to follow this approach,’ Jha said. ‘Instead of relying on rigorous analysis and evidence, he seems poised to prioritize his own views in decision-making.’”

The New York Times: Trump Picks RFK Jr. to Be Head of Health and Human Services Dept.

• “If he is confirmed, Mr. Kennedy would have sweeping control of a department with 80,000 employees across 13 operating divisions that run more than 100 programs. Its agencies regulate the food and medicine that Americans encounter in their daily lives, decide whether Medicare and Medicaid will pay for drugs and hospital treatments, guard against infectious disease, and conduct billions of dollars of medical research into diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s.”
• “Many Democrats and public health experts were appalled by Mr. Trump’s selection. Dr. Richard E. Besser, the chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the C.D.C., said that having Mr. Kennedy in the health secretary job ‘would pose incredible risks to the health of the nation,’ because Mr. Kennedy’s assault on the nation’s public health apparatus was worsening the mistrust lingering after the coronavirus pandemic. ‘Robert F. Kennedy is part of the problem and cannot be part of the solution,’ Dr. Besser said.”
• “But Mr. Kennedy has spread false information about vaccines, including that they cause autism — a theory that has long been debunked. He has publicly contradicted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that communities fluoridate their water to guard against tooth decay. He has embraced raw milk, despite the Food and Drug Administration’s warning that drinking it is risky, particularly amid a bird flu epidemic among dairy cows. And he has promoted hydroxychloroquine, a drug whose emergency authorization as a Covid-19 treatment was revoked by the Food and Drug Administration after a study of 821 people found it lacked effectiveness.”

The New York Post Editorial Board: Putting RFK Jr. In Charge Of Health Breaks The First Rule Of Medicine.

• “The overriding rule of medicine is: First, do no harm. We’re certain installing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head Health and Human Services breaks this rule.”
• “A radical, prolonged and confused transition ordered by a guy like RFK Jr., who will use his high office to spout his controversial beliefs, leaves a lot of room for things to go wrong — and for people to wind up harmed or even dead.”
• “Donald Trump won on promises to fix the economy, the border and soaring global disorder; his team needs to focus on delivering change on those fronts — not spend energy either having to defend crackpot theories or trying to control RFK Jr.’s mouth. We fear the worm that he claims ate some of his brain some years ago is contagious and there’s been an outbreak at Mar-a-Lago.”

KFF: Scientists Fear What’s Next for Public Health if RFK Jr. Is Allowed To ‘Go Wild’.

• “Many scientists at the federal health agencies await the second Donald Trump administration with dread as well as uncertainty over how the president-elect will reconcile starkly different philosophies among the leaders of his team.”
• “If Kennedy makes good on his vision for transforming public health, childhood vaccine mandates could wither. New vaccines might never win approval, even as the FDA allows dangerous or inefficient therapies onto the market. Agency websites could trumpet unproven or debunked health ideas. And if Trump’s plan to weaken civil service rights goes through, anyone who questions these decisions could be summarily fired. ‘Never has anybody like RFK Jr. gotten anywhere close to the position he may be in to actually shape policy,’ said Lewis Grossman, a law professor at American University and the author of ‘Choose Your Medicine,’ a history of U.S. public health.”

NBC News: FDA Employees Consider How To Handle RFK Jr., Including Leaving.

• “Some staff members at the Food and Drug Administration are considering a quick exit as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being floated as a potential health official in the incoming Trump administration, according to three former and one current government official who were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive issues. The former officials are still in touch with colleagues who work at the FDA.”
• “It’s not yet known what kind of health role Kennedy will have in the administration — if any — but Trump has said he’ll let the former independent presidential candidate and vaccine skeptic ‘go wild on health.’ Meanwhile, Kennedy is promising a shakeup at the federal health agencies, including the FDA, telling NBC News the day after the election  that ‘in some categories, there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA that are, that have to go.’”

CNN: RFK Jr.’s To-Do List To Make America ‘ Healthy’ Has Health Experts Worried.

• “Kennedy’s official selection for the nation’s top health post sent shockwaves through the public health world, concerned about his potential effects on vaccination rates, research on infectious diseases and misrepresentation of established science.”
• “Advocates for public health did not mince words with their criticism. […] Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN before the election that he felt compelled to weigh in publicly on Kennedy’s views because of concerns about potential Trump policies and what he referred to as Kennedy’s ‘pseudoscience.’ ‘Everything that we see and know about what a Trump administration would look like would devastate public health in this country,’ said Osterholm, who noted that he’d served in a health policy role in every presidential administration since Ronald Reagan’s and thinks of himself as a ‘nonpartisan public health soldier.’”

STAT: Trump Taps RFK Jr. To Run HHS, Nominating Vaccine Skeptic For Nation’s Top Health Role.

• “If confirmed, RFK Jr. will take the reins at a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees vaccines, medicines, scientific research, public health infrastructure, and the health care plans of Americans who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act’s markets. The directors of the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, yet to be nominated, all report to the HHS secretary.”
• “Donna Shalala, who led HHS during the Clinton administration, called RFK Jr. ‘totally unqualified’ for the role. ‘This is a very dangerous appointment,’ she said. ‘He’s dangerous to people’s health in our country and around the world.’ Several health care advocacy groups stated that they opposed the nomination.”

PBS News: Trump Will Nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Who Has Promoted Vaccine Misinformation, As Health Secretary.

• “Kennedy’s anti-vaccine nonprofit group, Children’s Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.”

NPR: What Happens When A Vaccine Skeptic Leads Health Policy? Ask Florida.

• “President-elect Trump says he’s going to let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ‘go wild on health.’ That has many pediatricians nervous, because of RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine rhetoric. When another vaccine skeptic, Joseph Ladapo, became surgeon general in Florida, some doctors there say vaccine hesitancy got worse.”
• “Vaccine hesitancy has been growing in Florida. When Ladapo was appointed in September of 2021, the routine childhood vaccination rate for kindergartners was 93.3%. It has now dropped to 90.6%. That’s the lowest rate in more than a decade — and it’s well below the threshold needed for herd immunity against highly contagious diseases like measles.”

The Washington Post: 10 RFK Jr. Conspiracy Theories And False Claims, In His Own Words.

• “The ascension of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, to the nation’s top health post has alarmed medical experts, who point to his history of trafficking in conspiracy theories as disqualifying to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.”
• “Here are 10 false health claims Kennedy has publicly made over the years: What To Know. Kennedy has falsely linked vaccines to autism. Kennedy falsely called the coronavirus vaccine the ‘deadliest vaccine ever made’. Kennedy promotes raw milk, stem cells and other controversial or debunked medical treatments. Kennedy argues government employees have an interest in ‘mass poisoning’ the American public. Kennedy has falsely linked antidepressants to mass shootings. Kennedy incorrectly suggests AIDS may not be caused by HIV. Kennedy falsely argues children’s gender identity can be impacted by water. Kennedy has falsely touted ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine as effective covid treatments. Kennedy argued that covid-19 was ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. Kennedy claims 5G high-speed wireless network is used to ‘control our behavior’.”

Forbes: RFK Jr.’s Conspiracy Theories: Here’s What Trump’s Pick For Health Secretary Has Promoted.

• “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now primed to take over as President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services next year, drawing renewed scrutiny to a string of false claims he has helped spread over the better part of the past two decades. Kennedy Jr., a well-known environmental lawyer, veered into fringe theories the early 2000s when he began promoting conspiracies about vaccines and the 2004 presidential election—and many more have followed.”

Axios: Trump Taps RFK Jr. For Health Secretary Position.

• “Why it matters: Trump’s pick would put one of the nation’s foremost vaccine skeptics in charge of America’s health care agencies. Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again campaign’s proposals have already alarmed some public health experts. Trump posted on Truth Social that HHS under Kennedy would ‘play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.’”

Politico: Trump To Select Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To Lead HHS.

• “Trump promised to let Kennedy ‘go wild’ with health and food policy in his administration after Kennedy dropped his own presidential bid to endorse the now-president-elect.”
• “House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said it’s up to the Senate to confirm or reject Kennedy but was skeptical that he was the right choice. ‘Is RFK Jr. the best qualified person in the United States of America to lead us forward as we grapple with an enormous amount of health challenges in this country? The answer is clearly he is not,’ Jeffries said.”

CNN: Trump Picks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To Be His Department Of Health And Human Services Secretary.

• “Kennedy, who accepted the offer Thursday, has been one of the nation’s most prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists for years and has frequently spread false conspiracy theories about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. He has been in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days following the election.”
• “If confirmed as the top public health official in the country, Kennedy would oversee the operations of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid. […] Kennedy would also be involved in any changes Trump and congressional Republicans attempt to make to Medicaid, which provides health care coverage for low-income Americans. In Trump’s first term, the agency tried to institute work requirements, which was largely blocked in court, and lawmakers unsuccessfully sought to reduce the program’s funding. The program, which covers nearly 72.5 million Americans, is expected to be a target in Trump’s second term, especially as the GOP seeks savings to offset the tax relief they hope to implement.”

STAT: Trump’s Pick of RFK Jr. at HHS: The Scientific Community, And Biopharma Investors, Respond.

• “Industry veterans, investors, lab leaders, and others were in some cases shocked and deeply disillusioned by the announcement, while some insisted that Kennedy’s selection may not be the death knell for vaccines and evidence-based medicine that more pessimistic voices made the pick out to be.”
• “‘I’m very concerned. I think at the minimum it will delay any kind of M&A until there’s clarity on the regulatory side, and clarity on whether there’s a chance of broader healthcare reform, including drug pricing,’ said another health care investor and portfolio manager of a biotech-focused fund, requesting anonymity.”

The Washington Post: Where RFK Jr. Could Go On Food Policy.

• “But the notion of putting Kennedy, founder of a prominent anti-vaccine group, in a position to shape health policy has alarmed some federal health officials and public health experts, as well as the food industry. They worry about his stated desire to fire nutritionists at the Food and Drug Administration; his promotion of products and medicines the agency has previously warned against, such as raw milk and hydroxychloroquine; and his history of making debunked claims about vaccine safety.”
• “On social media and talk shows, Kennedy repeatedly hammers the food industry, claiming it is ‘mass poisoning’ the American public. He has said Trump wants to ‘get the chemicals’ out of food. Kennedy has targeted McDonald’s fries and falsely claimed Froot Loops in Canada have just two or three ingredients. He has argued against consuming seed oils, though nutritionists push back against scientifically questionable claims that such oils are toxic. And he wants to bar food stamps from being used to buy soda or processed foods.”