Senate Confirms Xavier Becerra as HHS Secretary

While Becerra was in Congress, and serving as California's attorney general, he "exhibited an unceasing dedication to protecting the health and well-being of all Americans," Eyles said.

"Secretary Becerra will provide the strong leadership our nation needs as we work together to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. We look forward to working with him to protect and build upon the Affordable Care Act to expand health coverage for all Americans, address the underlying cost of health care, and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in medical care," he said.

Kim Keck, the president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, also put out a statement congratulating Becerra on his confirmation.

The Blues "look forward to working with him to address longstanding racial health inequities, combat the COVID-19 pandemic and make health care work better for everyone," Keck said.

"As California's attorney general, Becerra was a key defender of the Affordable Care Act, expressing his support of the law and the protections it provides Americans. We agree that the ACA is the best path forward to achieve universal coverage and that we need to build on it to make health care more affordable and accessible for everyone," Keck added.

In the past, some progressive Democrats have been opposed to the existence of Medicare Advantage program, which gives private insurers a chance to use a combination of Medicare program funding and enrollee premiums to provide an alternative to traditional Medicare coverage.

But Becerra said during his confirmation hearing that Medicare Advantage has turned out to be a good vehicle for getting people more services.

Allyson Schwartz, president of the Better Medicare Alliance, a group for Medicare Advantage program supporters, said her organization appreciates Becerra's commitment to the protecting the 26 million Medicare enrollees who use the program.

Schwartz is a former House member, and she noted in her statement that she served alongside Becerra.

"I saw firsthand Secretary Becerra's deep concern for improving health outcomes and reaching underserved communities," Schwartz said.

The Better Medicare Alliance wants to show Becerra that Medicare Advantage plans are providing better care than traditional Medicare coverage is for enrollees who tend to have lower income levels and be more diverse than the people with traditional Medicare coverage are, Schwartz said.

Margaret Murray, the CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, leads a group of 78 nonprofit plans that focus on administering health coverage for people who qualify for Medicare, the Children's Health Insurance Program and other government-sponsored health insurance programs.

"Secretary Becerra is unequivocally qualified to run HHS, as a longtime supporter of equitable access to comprehensive, affordable health coverage and care," Murray said.

ACAP wants to work with Becerra on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and eliminating racial disparities in health care access, Murray said.

ACAP also wants to work with Becerra on bringing back the old, pre-Trump administration rules for health insurance products that are exempt from the ACA rules that apply to major medical insurance, Murray said.

On Deck

Biden has nominated Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to be the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the arm of HHS that's directly in charge of overseeing Medicare, Medicaid and HealthCare.gov.

At press time, the Senate hearing calendar did not show a confirmation hearing listing for Brooks-LaSure.

The last hearing on the calendar was set for March 25.

Xavier Becerra (Photo: California Attorney General's Office)