Oz pledges to divest from HCA Healthcare and UnitedHealth if confirmed

Mehmet Oz, Trump's nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, pledged to divest his investments in hospitals and insurers if confirmed to lead the agency, he said in a filing with the Office of Government Ethics.

Why it matters: As CMS chief, Oz — better known as Dr. Oz — would oversee the largest health care purchasers in the U.S. that do business with and regulate many of the companies he's currently invested in.

Details: Oz holds shares in dozens of major companies, including hospital giant HCA Healthcare and insurer United Health Group. He also invests in pharmaceutical companies Abbvie and Eli Lilly as well as Amazon and Walmart, which have health care lines of business. He said in the filing he would divest from those companies within 90 days if confirmed as CMS chief.

• Oz reported he is an advisor to online wellness retailer iHerb and biopharmaceutical company Housey Pharma, a company he describes as a "botanical product company."
• He also advises EKO Health, a digital stethoscope company. He said he would resign and sell his shares in the companies.

The big picture: Oz said he would retain his financial interest in Emerald Oaks, a cattle ranch located in Okeechobee, Florida.

• He said he would also retain ownership of four residential real estate properties in Turkey as passive investments and would not be involved in active management of the properties.
• Oz also reported receiving royalties from book deals as well as patent royalties related to work performed with New York Presbyterian Columbia University Hospital.

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