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In honor of Black History Month, HHS hosted a forum to highlight the progress made to advance Black health equity under the Biden-Harris Administration
In honor of Black History Month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosted a Black Health Forum on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. The forum built on the 2023 HHS Black Health Summit to bring together senior leaders from the Biden-Harris Administration, state and local governments, the medical community, research institutions, advocacy, the private sector, and philanthropy. They discussed the progress made to advance Black health equity under the Biden-Harris Administration, learned from experts about ongoing health challenges in the Black community, fostered connections with others working in this space, and recommitted to building on the progress made to advance Black health and wellbeing.
In his remarks kicking off the forum, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra underscored the need for a whole-of-government and society effort to improve outcomes for the Black community and reiterated the commitment of the Biden-Harris Administration to center health equity in all of its policies.
“Equity by design is how we now try to operate, and so it should surprise no one that you are here. If we’re sincere about equity by design, it should surprise no one that today we have a major emphasis at HHS on maternal health if we want to be authentic to equity by design. It should be less of a surprise for everyone here when we say we are far from done in pushing the envelope when it comes to equity by design and so I hope that is why you are here is to join us in this effort.”
Following remarks from the Secretary, forum participants discussed the national state of Black health, efforts to address health disparities, and ways to improve health outcomes for Black mothers.
HHS has undertaken several noteworthy initiatives to improve health and human services outcomes in the Black community as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Unity Agenda. These include reducing the cost of prescription drugs through the Inflation Reduction Act, increasing health coverage for Black Americans through the Affordable Care Act, providing $468 million in funding opportunities to address disparities in maternal and infant health, launching the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, addressing the lack of culturally competent mental health providers, and ensuring the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and test kits within the Black community. Additionally, HHS has taken action to strengthen the health care workforce pipeline to support health care workers and create career advancement opportunities with a strong focus on equity and cultural competency.
Furthermore, HHS has strengthened civil rights protections for patients in federally funded health programs. Last year, working with the DOJ, HHS took action in Lowndes County, Alabama to address a civil rights violation stemming from a lack of enforcement of sanitation laws by health officials. The investigation revealed a pattern of inaction that predominately impacted Black residents. HHS worked out an action plan with the Alabama Department of Public Health to adopt public health measures from the CDC, launched a public health awareness campaign, and created a plan for improvements to the public health infrastructure.
More details on how HHS is advancing health equity for Black Americans can be viewed here.
The following individuals participated in the forum:
- HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra
- Mayor Stephen Benjamin, Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Public Engagement, The White House
- Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Miranda Lynch-Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, (ASPE)
- Dr. Dora Hughes, Acting Chief Medical Officer and Acting Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, CMS
- Derrick Johnson, President, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
- Reverend Dr. Que English, Director, HHS Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships
- Dr. Rachel Villanueva, 122nd Past President, National Medical Association
- Dr. Rachel Bervell, OBGYN Physician and Co-Founder of The Black ObGyn Project
- Alexia Doumbouya, President and Certified Doula, Cocolife.black (Coco Life Inc)
- Advocates, providers, and stakeholders
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