EXCLUSIVE: Becerra, Levine plan to expand health equity in a second Biden-Harris administration
Speaking with the Washington Blade on Monday, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Assistant Health Secretary Adm.
Rachel Levine detailed plans to expand health equity initiatives under a second Biden-Harris administration. The conversation came shortly after the agency held a Progress Pride flag-raising ceremony, where U.S.
Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), delivered opening remarks alongside the top HHS officials who also spoke at the department’s second annual Pride Summit later on Monday.
Levine highlighted a slate of recent actions and goals on which to build in a second term: The issuance in April of a final rule clarifying that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited under the Affordable Care Act; a demographic data collection plan on sexual orientation and gender identity metrics; the pursuit of regulations and litigation (coordinated with the Justice Department) to combat healthcare restrictions, including those which target LGBTQ communities; and the agency’s commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. “To put an exclamation point behind some of that,” Becerra said, “on SOGI, we think it’s important to gather the data that lets us figure out where to go next, or where you have issues” in “getting access to the care that you need.” “And we know we’re going to end up in court with a lot of the rules that we’ve enacted,” added the secretary, who previously served as attorney general of California, “but we’re ready for that — they’ll get tested, and we’re ready to defend [them].” Becerra added that along with the initiatives outlined by Levine, HHS is looking to expand efforts in the behavioral health space to maximize opportunities to match patients with providers who have shared backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences.
