CMS chief: ‘It is the greatest honor and privilege to serve in this role’

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Medicare’s leader and her top deputies said they are proud of their work in last four years to make health care more affordable and available.

On Nov. 20, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and her top aides met online with approximately 1,700 people for their final CMS Leadership National Call. They held online quarterly updates about the center and what Brooks-LaSure called the three M’s: Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the health insurance Marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act, all of which have record high enrollment, along with employer coverage.

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure
© U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

“It has been and it is the greatest honor and privilege to serve in this role,” Brooks-LaSure said.

She and her aides did not mention President-elect Donald Trump or offer predictions about future administrative leaders or actions. But they offered summaries of programs and initiatives under the administration of President Joe Biden.

The timing of the call may have seemed awkward coming a day after the president-elect announced he would name surgeon and television host Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA, to lead CMS. But the call was announced earlier this month, before that announcement and before Trump said he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CMS.

“In a few short years, we have accomplished so much decide to advance our collective mission,” Brooks-LaSure said, citing CMS’ strategic pillars: advancing equity, expanding access, engaging with partners, driving innovation, protecting our programs, and excellence.

“And as you've heard from all of the leaders here at CMS today, there is a tremendous amount of work that has been done,” Brooks-LaSure said. “We always describe our accomplishments with broad strokes. Our work together impacts over 160 million people, and it's a vast responsibility, but it is thanks to you that we reach the people in our communities, no matter what they look like, where they live or how much money they have. It is thanks to you that we see the impact of our work in our own neighborhoods and our own families.”

People who could not afford health care a few years ago now have it – a huge achievement, she said.

Among her proudest achievements is the work to strengthen health care for women. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision, CMS reaffirmed that all people have the right to stabilizing care when they go to Medicare-covered hospitals for medical emergencies, Brooks-LaSure said. That includes the right abortion care for necessary, stabilizing treatment under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, (EMTALA), she said.

CMS is tackling the maternity health care crisis, which disproportionately affects minority populations, regardless of income and education. CMS created the birthing friendly hospital designation and expanded Medicaid and CHIP postpartum coverage from two to 12 months, she said.

“Medicaid and CHIP has been such a lifeline to the 80 million people who depend on it for access to health care and their community supports,” Brooks-LaSure said. “I think the best way to describe the work that we have done in Medicaid over the last couple of years is to say that we are treating it like any other animal. Whether you're in the commercial market, whether you are enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP or whether you are enrolled in Medicare, you need to get access to the care that you need to be able to see your doctors, to see your primary care physicians and other clinicians, and that is the work that we have done and tried to do over the last couple of years.”

CMS has tried to make its payment models more accessible to safety net and rural hospitals. The GUIDE Model, for Guiding and Improved Dementia Experience, aims to assiste people with dementia care, and their caregivers, she said.

Medicare prescription drug benefits will become more affordable for millions, with a $2,000 spending cap next year and future changes that will come from negotiating lower prescription drug costs, Brooks-LaSure said.

She thanked the audience for their support. “We know we can count on your dedication and leadership to continue this after some of us are no longer here,” Brooks-LaSure said.