Axios

Doctor and TV personality Mehmet Oz, or Dr. Oz, is President-elect Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that oversees health care for 160 million Americans.

Why it matters: Oz, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2022 against Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), does not have experience running a large government bureaucracy like the CMS.

President-elect Trump has picked doctor and TV personality Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), he announced on Tuesday.

Why it matters: 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.

Public awareness of the 988 national suicide prevention hotline is growing but still low, new survey data from University of Pennsylvania found.

Why it matters: Calls and texts to 988 are increasing. Still, the hotline can't help someone if they don't know about it, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vivek Ramaswamy, the incoming Trump administration has divergent views on regulating the pharmaceutical industry.

Why it matters: Both influential MAGA allies say there are deep problems with America's drug development system. But RFK Jr., the Health and Human Services secretary designee, is calling for more oversight of drugs and vaccines and diminished federal funding for R&D.

About one in eight children in America's most populous city experienced homelessness last school year, according to a report released on Monday.

The big picture: Student homelessness, which tracks with worsening federal homelessness trends, is nationally linked to higher rates of chronic absenteeism and drop outs.

The share of U.S. kindergartners with vaccine exemptions increased in 40 states plus Washington, D.C., during the 2023-24 school year, according to recently updated CDC data.

Why it matters: The trend is a reflection of increased vaccine skepticism, which has lingered in some parenting corners for years but gained considerable steam during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for an end to the public health practice of putting fluoride in water.

Why it matters: If he's confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in the new Trump administration, public health experts worry the conspiracy-tinged ideas about fluoride in water could have widespread impacts.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Health and Human Services ended an impasse over the virtual prescribing of controlled substances that threatened access to drugs like Adderall by extending pandemic-era flexibilities through the end of 2025.

Why it matters: Keeping the status quo leaves the question of whether to make controlled substances available without an in-person doctor's visit for the Trump administration to decide.

While the early focus on a Trump administration Food and Drug Administration has been on vaccine policy, one of its first moves could be overhauling the federal rules that have made it easier to access the widely used abortion pill mifepristone.

Why it matters: Use of the drug has surged as states enacted near or total abortion bans after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. But new agency leadership could quickly move to roll back some of the policies that were the focus of a closely watched Supreme Court case this year.