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  • Press Release

    AAMC Statement on Nomination of Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as CMS Administrator

    Media Contacts

    John Buarotti, Sr. Public Relations Specialist

    AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, issued the following statement on the nomination of Chiquita Brooks-LaSure for administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health and Human Services:

    “The AAMC congratulates Chiquita Brooks-LaSure on her nomination as CMS administrator. She has been a strong, persistent, and effective voice in support of increasing patient access to vital health care, and her detailed understanding of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as well as her commitment to health equity, makes her a welcome partner in academic medicine’s work to improve the health of people everywhere.

    Since the enactment of the ACA, the number of uninsured nonelderly Americans has decreased from over 46.5 million in 2010 to just below 27 million in 2016. For the health of all, it is essential that the nation finds ways to increase access to affordable health coverage, including sustaining and strengthening programs that provide access to health care coverage and reduce the health disparities experienced by many communities. 

    The Medicare program provides coverage for more than 62 million individuals, and AAMC-member teaching hospitals provide a disproportionate level of care for this population. Medicare also helps support the critical missions and complex patient populations served by the medical expertise and cutting-edge technology of our nation’s teaching hospitals and their physician faculty. Medicare-supported graduate medical education covers a crucial share of physician training costs and the costs associated with the specialized services available at the nation’s teaching hospitals. Protecting and improving the Medicare program and its social roles is critical for both patients and the nation.  

    Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, covering one in five Americans, including many with unique and often costly health care needs. Teaching hospitals and their faculty physicians also provide care for a disproportionate number of these patients. A stable and secure Medicaid program is pivotal in supporting these vulnerable patients as well as the safety-net providers who care for them. 

    Strong and thriving federal health care programs are essential to our nation’s well-being, and the AAMC looks forward to working with Ms. Brooks-LaSure and other members of the Biden-Harris administration to enhance and protect these programs, increase access to care, and create a healthier future.”


    The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) is a nonprofit association dedicated to improving the health of people everywhere through medical education, health care, medical research, and community collaborations. Its members are all 158 U.S. medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education; 13 accredited Canadian medical schools; approximately 400 academic health systems and teaching hospitals, including Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 70 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC leads and serves America’s medical schools, academic health systems and teaching hospitals, and the millions of individuals across academic medicine, including more than 193,000 full-time faculty members, 96,000 medical students, 153,000 resident physicians, and 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences. Following a 2022 merger, the Alliance of Academic Health Centers and the Alliance of Academic Health Centers International broadened participation in the AAMC by U.S. and international academic health centers.