Brooks-LaSure will face the immediate tasks of implementing President Biden's plan to expand the ACA and overturning policies put forward by former President Trump.
On a 55-44 mostly partisan vote, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved the nomination of veteran Democratic healthcare policy expert Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to become the first Black woman to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Five Republicans crossed the aisle to vote for Brooks-LaSure.
As administrator of the $1 trillion agency, Brooks-LaSure will face the immediate and simultaneous tasks of leading a massive federal bureaucracy as the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, implementing President Joe Biden's plan to expand the Affordable Care Act, and overturning policies put forward by former CMS Administrator Seema Verma under President Donald J. Trump.
Brooks-LaSure's nomination eked by the Senate Finance Committee in April on a partisan 14-14 vote. At the time, she told the committee that focusing on healthcare access and inequity would be a key priority for her.
"During my career, I’ve seen how communities of color too often experience worse health outcomes, which we’ve seen so acutely during this pandemic," she told the committee.
Brooks-LaSure has a long tenure in health policy, having worked as a Medicaid analyst for the Office of Management and Budget, a Democratic staffer on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, and from 2010 to 2014 as a policy maker in the Obama Administration with the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at CMS, which played a role in formulating policy for the Affordable Care Act.
Most recently, Brooks-LaSure was managing director of the Health Division of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.
This is not the first time that the nomination of CMS administrator has proven contentious. In March 2017, Seema Verma, Brook-LaSure's predessor, was appointed on a partisan 55-43 vote, with two Senators abstaining.
In July 2010, President Obama appointed Donald Berwick, MD, to lead CMS, where he served as acting administration for five months. He was forced to resign in December 2010 because of Republican opposition to his nomination.
John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Five Republican Senators crossed the aisle to vote for Brooks-LaSure.
Brooks-LaSure becomes the first Black woman to lead CMS.
Brooks-LaSure has a long tenure in health policy, having worked as a Medicaid analyst at OMB, a Democratic staffer in the House, and an ACA policymaker in Obama White House.
Most recently, Brooks-LaSure was managing director of the Health Division of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.