President Biden Nominates Chiquita Brooks-LaSure for CMS Administrator and Appoints Liz Fowler as Director of CMMI

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Feb. 20 -- The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization issued the following news release:

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) congratulates Chiquita Brooks-LaSure on her nomination as the next Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Liz Fowler on her appointment as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Director.

Brooks-LaSure is a longtime health policy expert that currently serves as a managing director at Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips, LLP. Brooks-LaSure has previous experience as a top official at CMS leading all policy work for the office responsible for implementing coverage provisions and enforcing health insurance reforms under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) during the Obama Administration. Brooks-LaSure also led work on health reform as professional staff for the House Ways and Means Committee on Capitol Hill.

Fowler currently serves as the Executive Vice President for Programs at the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation focused on health care, after leaving Johnson and Johnson in 2019. During the drafting of the ACA, Fowler was the chief health counsel for the Senate Finance Committee and upon passage, she worked on implementation at the Department of Health and Human Services and was a special assistant to President Barack Obama on health care and economic policy at the National Economic Council.

"We are thrilled that Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and Liz Fowler will serve as leaders of CMS. They understand the inner workings of government and have a deep appreciation for health advocacy," said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach. "We look forward to working closely with Ms. Brooks-LaSure and Ms. Fowler to ensure care for our most vulnerable populations as we battle COVID-19 and support the mission of the hospice and palliative care provider community to advance person-centered care."