White House taps Obama administration vet as potential first Black woman to lead CMS
President Joe Biden has selected Chiquita Brooks-LaSure—a health policy expert and Obama administration veteran—as the next Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services chief, according to published reports. If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman to lead the massive, $1 trillion federal agency.
The Washington Post first reported Brooks-LaSure’s nomination late Wednesday, citing anonymous sources. She previously served as a top health official working to implement the Affordable Care Act and aided Biden’s team in assessing Health and Human Services during the administration switchover.
Currently, Brooks-LaSure is a managing director with consulting firm Manatt Health in Washington, D.C. She was also previously a Democratic staffer for the House Ways and Means Committee, where she built ties with then-Rep. Xavier Becerra, the report noted.
The White House has also tapped Becerra—currently the California attorney general—as its next HHS secretary. His selection has earned praise from the American College of Radiology and scorn from conservatives who have criticized his defense of abortion rights and the ACA. The U.S. Senate is slated to hold confirmation hearings for former secretary Alex Azar’s replacement next week.
ACR said Thursday that it’s ready to tackle policy matters pertinent to the radiology field with both Becerra and Brooks-Lasure.
“We are looking forward to working with her and her CMS team on the many issues facing our specialty, physicians and patients,” ACR Executive Vice President of Government Relations and Health Policy Cynthia Moran told Radiology Business.
You can read more about the nomination below.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.