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CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Joins Protect Our Care and NAACP in Fireside Chat to Mark Black History Month

By February 26, 2024No Comments

 ***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29 AT 11:30 AM***

Event Will Underscore How the Biden-Harris Administration Is Leading the Charge in Prioritizing Health Care and Good Health Outcomes for Black Americans

Washington, D.C. — On February 29, 2024 at 11:30 AM, Protect Our Care and NAACP, in partnership with NAACP’s Howard University Chapter, the Howard University Graduate Student Assembly, and the Howard University Graduate Student Council is hosting a fireside chat with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure on improving health outcomes for Black Americans. 

Appointed by President Biden, Administrator Brooks-LaSure is the first African American to lead the Agency. CMS manages Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and other key programs, making it the largest provider of health coverage in the United States. Under her leadership, the agency has built on the success of the Affordable Care Act and implemented the Inflation Reduction Act to make health insurance and prescription drugs more affordable for millions of Black families. Through enhanced premium savings, more than 65 percent of uninsured Black adults have become eligible for zero-dollar premium plans. The Center on Budget Policy and Priorities estimates these increased savings will cause a sharp decline in the uninsured rate across every racial group, with a projected one in three uninsured Black adults gaining coverage. Additionally, the Biden-Harris administration is fighting the maternal health crisis by expanding Medicaid coverage for new mothers to one year postpartum, awarding millions of dollars to create a maternal mental health task force, and other programs.

This event presents an opportunity to learn more about efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration to protect the health of Black Americans and address racial health disparities for Black Americans at every stage of their lives. 

EVENT:

WHO:
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Joi Chaney, Senior Health Equity Advisor, Protect Our Care
Leslie Dach, Chair, Protect Our Care
Andrea Hayes Dixon M.D., FACS, FAAO, Dean and Vice President of Clinical Affairs, Howard University, College of Medicine
Jasmine Rivera, President, NAACP Howard University Chapter

WHAT: Event and Media Availability

WHERE: Howard University College of Medicine, Auditorium on 3rd Floor, 520 W St NW, Washington, D.C. 

WHEN: Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 11:30 AM

RSVP: Media should RSVP to [email protected]. Students and members of the public should RSVP via https://www.protectourcare.org/howard/