Biography

For more than 25 years, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure has dedicated her career to ensuring that people in America live healthy, thriving lives. With an exceptional ability to see challenges and solutions from multiple perspectives, a proven record of assembling dynamic teams, and a listen-first leadership approach coupled with clear-eyed decisiveness, Chiquita has positively transformed organizations that are making a significant impact across the nation.

Brooks-LaSure served as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from 2021 to 2025. This government agency oversees over $1.4 trillion in annual spending, provides health coverage to more than 160 million Americans, and oversees health, safety, and performance standards at over 20,000 U.S. hospitals, nursing homes, and other health facilities. An average week for the CMS Administrator includes billion-dollar decisions and direct engagement with health leaders, advocates, Congressional leadership, governors, mayors, and Fortune 100 CEOs.

As Administrator, Chiquita assembled and led a diverse senior staff, along with 6,000 dedicated agency employees and over 30,000 contractors, in delivering record-breaking results for the American people. Under her leadership, CMS doubled health coverage under the Affordable Care Act from 12 to 24 million enrollees, expanded and strengthened Medicaid, raised maternal health standards, and led negotiations with Fortune 100 corporations to lower prescription drug prices. These negotiations are estimated to save $6 billion in overall costs and $1.5 billion for Medicare enrollees in the first year alone.

Chiquita met and exceeded the policy goals of the Biden-Harris Administration with an administrative budget of less than 1 percent of total expenditures, guiding the agency through budget shortfalls, establishing clear lines of accountability for CMS to work more effectively across offices, and strengthened internal operations to address cybersecurity and improve accountability from
contractors.

She brought to CMS her experience at consulting firms Avalere Health and Manatt Health, where she provided nuanced and actionable insights on Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act to leaders of health plans, hospital systems, pharmaceutical companies, and advocacy organizations.

She helped clients pivot in the midst of a changing federal and state policy landscape, preparing them for ACA repeal efforts and crafting state initiatives on health care cost containment, consumer affordability, and network adequacy. Through her thought leadership, she also spurred meaningful policy discussions on health equity and maternal health.

Chiquita played an instrumental role in the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, first as a legislative aide on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and following the ACA’s passage, at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Modern Healthcare named Chiquita the most influential person in healthcare in 2023, and Time Magazine included her among the 100 most influential global health leaders and “most admired women” leaders. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, Chiquita received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University.

She is married with one daughter.

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