[co-author: Josue Silva]
On February 17, 2021, it was reported that President Biden would nominate Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the largest operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The CMS Administrator enjoys considerable influence. Administrator-designate Brooks-LaSure, if confirmed, will run the largest HHS operating division with more than $1 trillion in annual expenditures, more than 6,000 employees, 10 offices around the country, regulatory oversight of nearly all health care providers in the nation and control of federal health programs covering 145 million Americans, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. Because of this role, the Administrator and her actions often have wide-reaching effects on health care, even beyond the programs CMS administers.