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Mehmet Oz / “Dr. Oz” vs. transgender people

Mehmet Öz, better known by stage name “Dr. Oz,” is an American heart surgeon, media figure, author, and anti-transgender activist. Öz was named head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Trump Administration. In that role, Öz carried out administration directives to attack transgender healthcare.

Background

Mehmet Cengiz Öz was born on June 11, 1960 in Cleveland, Ohio, to heart surgeon Mustafa Öz and Suna Öz, both Turkish immigrants . Öz grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. As a dual US/Turkish citizen, Oz completed 60 days of mandatory military training in the Turkish Army during the 1980s to retain Turkish citizenship. Oz has two siblings, Seval Öz and Nazlim Öz.

Öz earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1982 and a medical degree from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1986. Öz also earned a master’s degree from the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania. Öz completed a surgical residency at NewYork‑Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia University Medical Center) in 1991, followed by a cardiothoracic / thoracic surgery fellowship there in 1993. Öz then joined the faculty at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and was appointed Professor of Surgery in the late 1990s.

Öz gained national visibility beginning in 2004 through frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Öz parlayed this into The Dr. Oz Show, a daytime television program which premiered in 2009 and ran until 2022.

In 2022, Öz entered electoral politics as the Republican nominee in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania. Öz was defeated by John Fetterman.

Trump Administrations

On November 28, 2018, US President Donald Trump appointed Öz to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition.

Öz’s involvement with the administration expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In March 2020, Öz was involved with strategies for reopening parts of the U.S. economy and schools while managing the pandemic.

On November 19, 2024, President-elect Trump announced that Öz would be nominated to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). On April 3, 2025, the United States Senate confirmed Öz as CMS administrator by a 53–45 vote. Öz formally assumed office on April 8, 2025.

During June 23, 2025, Öz worked with US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to secure an industry pledge aimed at improving the prior-authorization process across public and private insurance plans. On February 25, 2026, Öz announced a federal crackdown on fraud in Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Anti-trans activism

Öz was not originally as strident about transgender people. On The Dr. Oz Show, Öz aired a 2010 episode titled “Transgender Kids: Too Young to Decide?” that featured transgender youth and their families, including Jazz Jennings.

On November 28, 2012, Öz aired an episode promoting the ex-gay movement and the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). In response to criticism, Öz posted “After listening to both sides of the issue and after reviewing the available medical data, I agree with the established medical consensus.”

After being confirmed as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Öz began carrying out Trump Administration aims attacking transgender healthcare.

In April 2025, Öz released a statement to coincide with a letter sent by Deputy Administrator and Director Drew Snyder

Medicaid dollars are not to be used for gender reassignment surgeries or hormone treatments in minors – procedures that can cause permanent, irreversible harm, including sterilization. We have a duty to ensure medical care is lawful, necessary, and truly in the best interest of patients. CMS will not support services that violate this standard or place vulnerable children at risk.

On December 18, 2025, Öz published an op-ed in the Washington Post on “sex-rejecting medical interventions for minors.” Öz cited Lisa Littman and ex-trans litigation among others in the piece, writing in part:

America’s children aren’t lab mice. They deserve quality care backed by sound evidence and should not be conscripted as test subjects in risky experiments that cause irreversible harm.

That’s why the federal government has proposed two rules today banning the use of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funds to subsidize sex-rejecting medical interventions for minors and prohibiting hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid from performing them. Extraordinary interventions such as cross-sex hormones and double mastectomies require extraordinary evidence, especially when children are involved. In this case, the evidence is lacking.

Comprehensive independent reviews — including by the Department of Health and Human Services, Sweden, Finland and Britain â€” conclude that the evidence that these treatments produce lasting benefits is “remarkably weak,” “low quality” and “insufficient” to determine “long-term outcomes.”

In the winter, Öz convened a meeting on trans healthcare for minors. Attendees included:

References

Baum, S. (March 2, 2026). ASPS Members Demand Answers After Org Released Anti-Trans Statement From Behind Closed Doors. Erin In The Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/asps-members-demand-answers-after

Gibbs, Aly (December 19, 2025). TWIBS: Transition, You Coward! Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/twibs-transition-you-coward

Monteil, Abby (December 19, 2025). Dr. Oz Makes Bizarre Rant About the Cost of Bottom Surgeries: “Testicles, That’s Extra.” them https://www.them.us/story/dr-mehmet-oz-150k-trans-phalloplasty-penis-surgery-fact-check-children?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Downer, Adam (December 18, 2025). Creepy Dr. Oz Scoffs at Paying $150K for a Penis. Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/creepy-dr-oz-scoffs-at-paying-150k-for-a-penis/

Anti-trans coverage

Peters, Jeremy W. (March 16, 2026). In Tense Meeting, Dr. Oz Pressed Medical Societies on Trans Care for Teens. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/us/politics/dr-oz-transgender-meeting.html

Campanile, Carl (March 11, 2026). Dr. Oz rips AG James, defends NYU Langone decision to ax transgender treatment for kids. New York Post https://nypost.com/2026/03/11/us-news/dr-oz-rips-ag-james-defends-nyu-langone-decision-to-ax-transgender-treatment-for-kids/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Glibertson, Nick (December 25, 2021). Report — Dr. Oz on Trans Swimmer: ‘We Have to Have Compassion’ for Transgender Adults. Breitbart https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/25/report-dr-oz-on-trans-swimmer-we-have-to-have-compassion/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Selected writing by Öz

Öz, Mehmet (December 18, 2025). Mehmet Oz: What children in gender distress really need. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/12/18/mehmet-oz-transgender-children/

Öz, Mehmet (April 11, 2025). Statement from CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on Letter to State Medicaid Agencies. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/statement-cms-administrator-dr-mehmet-oz-letter-state-medicaid-agencies

Media

Katie Miller Pod with Katie Miller, Dr. Oz, and Lisa Oz (February 17, 2026). Dr. Oz & Lisa Oz on Minnesota Fraud, Health Trends, & Transgender Surgeries | KMP Ep. 27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bw4LN9s–c

Forbes Breaking News (December 18, 2025). ‘We Have Mixed Politics And Medicine’: Dr. Oz Slams Progressives, Gender-Affirming Care For Minors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj-SBgxjs7E

Health Uncensored With Dr. Drew (August 19, 2025). Exclusive: Dr. Oz on Trans Surgeries for Minors | Health Uncensored with Dr. Drew. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVuWBKWZBrA

DoctorOz (June 27, 2025, aired March 11, 2015). Bruce Jenner’s Transition: What It Means to Be Transgender | Dr. Oz | S6 | Ep 130 | Full Episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj4nlKRjaHU

TheDC Shorts (April 12, 2022). FLASHBACK: Dr. Oz Airs Transgender Kids Episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8NMgda_Xq0

Resources

Dr. Mehmet Oz (doctoroz.com)

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (cms.gov)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Instagram (instagram.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

TikTok (tiktok.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)