Washington, DC – The National Health Law Program celebrates the Senate’s confirmation of Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to lead HHS’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We welcome a CMS administrator who will center urgent health access and equity challenges and prioritize equitable solutions. We look forward to a strong partnership with Administrator-designate Brooks-LaSure and her team at CMS to advance health access and equity.
CMS oversees health coverage for more than 100 million people through Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, and the health insurance marketplaces. As a long-time thought leader on access to health care for low-income people, particularly those most underserved by our health care systems, Brooks-LaSure has the expertise and dedication to oversee improvements in the ability of these programs to ensure high quality, accessible, and affordable health care.
Throughout her career, Brooks-LaSure has emphasized Medicaid and the ACA marketplaces’ crucial roles in alleviating racial inequities in health outcomes. She called out the role of the Trump administration’s Medicaid work requirements and 2019 public charge rule in perpetuating health inequities, particularly for people of color. She has highlighted the importance of more robust data collection to alleviate health inequities. Brooks-LaSure has stressed the importance of centering community voices in health policy development and priority-setting—an approach that is essential to fostering a healthier and more equitable country for all.
There is much work to do. We believe Chiquita Brooks-LaSure will energetically face those challenges.
