AHA Backs Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as Next CMS Administrator

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has announced its support of President Biden’s pick for CMS Administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, ahead of the confirmation hearing this week.

The industry group representing nearly 5,000 hospitals and other healthcare organizations and more than 270,000 physicians praised Brooks-LaSure’s experience with health policy, particularly around insurance reform provisions and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“The AHA has worked with Ms. Brooks-LaSure during her career, she has been a champion for health care coverage and affordable health care, which the AHA has long supported,” Richard J. Pollack, president and CEO of the AHA, wrote to Senate Finance Committee leaders on April 9th.

“Throughout her time in public service, it is clear that Ms. Brooks-LaSure has consistently made people across America and their health a top priority,” Pollack stated.

The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled the confirmation hearing for Brooks-LaSure for 9:30 AM ET on Thursday, April 15.

At that time, the Committee will also consider Biden’s nomination of Andrea Joan Palm for Deputy Secretary of HHS.

AHA also voiced support for Palm in a separate letter to the Senate Finance Committee. The group commended Palm’s efforts as secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nomination puts Brooks-LaSure on the path to overseeing the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as implementation of the ACA and its provisions impacting the private payer market.

When nominating Brooks-LaSure in February, President Biden highlighted her role in guiding the landmark healthcare law through passage and implementation.

Previously, Brooks-LaSure served as the deputy director for policy at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight within CMS, and earlier as director of coverage policy at HHS. In both positions, Brooks-LaSure led the agency’s implementation of ACA coverage and other insurance reform policies.

Earlier in her career, Brooks-LaSure also helped House leaders pass several healthcare laws, including the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.

Brooks-LaSure is currently the managing director of Manatt Health at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, a California-based law firm. In this position, Brooks-LaSure provides policy analysis and strategic advice to healthcare stakeholders across the private and public sectors.

If confirmed, Brooks-LaSure will be the first Black woman to lead CMS.

Brooks-LaSure will also be a key figure in the Biden administration’s fight against COVID-19.

“There are many critical challenges facing the nation and the health care field. Nothing is more critical than the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring that hospitals, health systems and our heroic front-line caregivers have the resources and support they need to care for patients and win the battle against the virus,” AHA stated in the letter.

“We also need to make important progress on advancing the transformation of health care, ensuring access to coverage, making health care equitable to all people in America and enhancing the quality of care,” Pollack continued.

Brooks-LaSure is also likely to focus on reducing health inequities made worse by the ongoing pandemic through coverage reform.

“One of the biggest issues is really the focus is continuity of coverage,” she recently told PatientEngagementHIT in an article on maternal health inequities. “Because if you think about what happens when you add another person to your family, your income changes automatically.”

The Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) has also backed Brooks-LaSure as CMS Administrator.

“With more than two decades of experience in both the public and private sectors, Ms. Brooks-LaSure has both the health policy expertise and sound judgment to lead CMS at this critical juncture,” said Chip Kahn, president and CEO of FAH.

“I would be hard-pressed to think of someone with a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Her unyielding commitment to high-quality, equitable health care, along with innovation in its delivery, will generate a new era of policies that will benefit both patients and providers alike,” Kahn added.

America’s Physician Group also made a statement in support of Brooks-LaSure’s nomination.