Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor appointed to oversee Medicare in the Trump administration, has posted online advertisements for herbal products that threaten to run afoul of US marketing rules, according to a health watchdog.
Oz regularly advertised products from iHerbsupplement company, in posts on X and other social media pages, without visibly indicating his position as a paid consultant, according to a letter from Public Citizen. The nonprofit consumer protection group has called on the Consumer Protection Bureau to investigate whether Oz violated Federal Trade Commission rules on influencer marketing.
Oz did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
President-elect Donald Trump’s appointees to lead the nation’s health agencies have come under fire from Democratic lawmakers for their embrace of unproven medical theories, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s skepticism. according to the vaccine. With 3.7 million followers on X and 1.1 million on InstagramOz has already come under fire for his enthusiastic endorsement of products such as green coffee bean extract and raspberry ketone.
Leading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “is a position of trust that, among other things, requires protecting taxpayers from fraud,” Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement. “If Dr. Oz himself is careless about fair advertising rules, can we expect him to crack down on those who would kill Medicare?”
In his frequent posts mentioning iHerb, Oz failed to note that they were advertisements and that he was a shareholder in the company, according to Public Citizen. According to FTC rules, every promotion must publish a confirmation.
Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse to practice gratitude—which is also a proven way to reduce stress. You can also reduce stress with adaptogens such as ashwagandha from a trusted source such as @iHerb. Happy Thanksgiving! https://t.co/YhPf8fLbiT
— dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) November 27, 2024
As head of CMS, Oz would oversee the agency that manages health care for more than one-third of Americans with annual spending of $1.7 trillion. Oz also promoted private versions of Medicare, the government’s program for the elderly, and invested in companies that sell them.
Oz and his wife Lisa discovered properties in the UnitedHealth Group Inc., America’s largest health insurer, of at least $250,001. The material was published in form filed by Oz as part of his 2022 bid for the Pennsylvania Senate seat.
The couple also had smaller shares CVS Health corp. share, parent company of the insurer Aetnaand Cigna The group, according to the announcement.
Those stocks have suffered in recent months as the Biden administration has limited payments, tightening rules limiting reimbursement. Shares including Humane and CVS also fell as CMS cut quality ratings, called stars, that determine future payments.
