Surgeon General Nominee Pledges to Divest From Wellness Interests

Dr. Casey Means, the nominee for surgeon general, promised in government filings that she would sell the stake in a company she co-founded and step away from work as an influencer promoting dietary supplements and wellness products.

Dr. Means was nominated for the post by President Trump in May, but her confirmation hearing before a Senate committee was held up because she had not filed the required ethics and monetary records until a few days ago. Her financial filings detail holdings as varied as her advisory role at Levels, a company that provides glucose monitors, and family investments in tobacco and tech companies.

A close adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Means rose to prominence with a biography that included a successful academic career toward becoming a surgeon. She has said she left the medical profession out of frustration, asserting in public appearances and in her book that the health care system puts patients on a treadmill of surgeries and treatments without addressing the root cause of their illnesses.

In a newsletter and in social media channels, the financial documents show, she has monetized her worldview through payments from companies that sell supplements, home-delivered meals and other products. Dr. Means shares Mr. Kennedy’s critical stance toward the medical establishment and appreciation for supplements and other wellness items, even though they tend to undergo little federal scrutiny for effectiveness.

Dr. Means reported newsletter sponsorship payments over an 18-month period of $46,000 from Pique, a maker of tea, supplements and elixirs; $27,000 from Pendulum Therapeutics, Inc., which makes probiotic products; about $27,000 from Energybits, an algae supplement company; and about $16,000 from Florasophy, a fiber supplement company. In several such deals, Dr. Means also was paid fees for sales of products promoted in her newsletter.

Dr. Means reported more than $100,000 and less than $1 million in royalties for her book, “Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health.” The government forms generally require people to disclose fees or income within a range, which can be broad.

She also received about $79,000 in newsletter sponsorship and $55,000 in book tour fees from Amazentis, a Swiss company that said it was working on therapies aimed at “modulating mitochondrial function.”

Though a date has not yet been set for her confirmation hearing before the Senate health committee, Dr. Means may face heated questioning, given the increasing bipartisan criticism of Mr. Kennedy’s actions undercutting vaccine policy.

In a newsletter outlining her “wish list” just before the election, Dr. Means called for reforming the 1986 law that protects vaccine makers from civil liability. The law enacted the provisions for a special court system that was meant to quickly compensate families after a vaccine injury. In that post, she criticized the current list of vaccines that tend to be given to young children.

“There is growing evidence that the total burden of the current extreme and growing vaccine schedule is causing health declines in vulnerable children,” she wrote. “This needs to be investigated.”

Child health experts say that the recommended immunizations have copious safety data and that curtailing the vaccine schedule could trigger outbreaks of deadly infectious diseases.

In her disclosure records, Dr. Means said she would divest of stock valued at between $15,000 and $50,000 in Altria Group, which owns the Marlboro cigarette brand, and of stock in the same value range in Philip Morris International, which markets the IQOS heated tobacco products and Zyn tobacco pouches. A spokesman from the Department of Health and Human Services said the tobacco stocks were purchased by her husband before they were married.

The surgeon general’s office plays a prominent role in tobacco policy through its annual reports on smoking and tobacco use. On the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast last year, Dr. Means and her brother, Calley Means, called out the tobacco company Philip Morris, saying that its tactics were adopted for food formulations that led people to become addicted to ultraprocessed snacks.

Dr. Means’s ethics agreement said that she would also resign her position and sell her stock in Levels Health, a company that she has said she co-founded. Levels provides continuous glucose monitors to people so they can track how their diet affects blood sugar levels. The monitors link to a company app that gives people information about their health.

The program is not aimed at the monitor’s traditional customers who have diabetes. Rather, the company suggests that the service will help people eat nutritious food and maintain steady levels of blood sugar. The company charges about $184 per month for a glucose monitor that can link to the app.

Dr. Means also pledged to divest her financial interest of $15,000 to $50,000 in True Medicine, a wellness company co-founded by her brother, a close adviser to Mr. Kennedy and an influential figure in the Make America Healthy Again movement.

A special government employee, Mr. Means has not had to disclose the details of his own financial holdings or how they touch on government health policies. True Medicine helps people buy items like red-light masks, Peloton bikes and $8,000 saunas with money not subject to federal income taxes. The company could benefit from Trump administration plans to make more people eligible for such spending.

Dr. Means also said she would divest her interest in Function Health, a company owned by Dr. Mark Hyman, a wellness influencer who is also close to Mr. Kennedy. Dr. Means reported drawing nearly $60,000 in income from the company for newsletter sponsorship and partnership fees. Function sells subscriptions for blood tests that inform users about a range of health measures, including lead levels and sexually transmitted diseases.

According to the filings, her spouse is the founder and chief executive of MagicLinks, an influencer marketing firm that connects people to companies that will pay them for endorsing products. In her ethics filing, she said she would not participate in any matter that could have an effect on the company’s finances.

The surgeon general’s role has been empty since the departure of Dr. Vivek Murthy, who held the post under former President Joseph Biden. Dr. Murthy had previously been paid millions of dollars as a consultant to major companies, including Carnival Corporation’s cruise lines, on Covid policy.

Dr. Means was chosen after Mr. Trump withdrew the nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a New York medical director and Fox News contributor who also sold vitamins online.

Dr. Means received her medical degree from Stanford University and then trained as an otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon. She dropped out of her surgical residency in 2018, turning to entrepreneurial work, founding Levels and promoting dozens of health and wellness products.