WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed President Joe Biden’s pick to run U.S. health insurance programs, putting in place a key player who’ll carry out his strategy for expanding affordable coverage and reining in prescription drug costs. Obama-era policy adviser Chiquita Brooks-LaSure will be the first Black woman to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, which also administers children’s health insurance and the Affordable Care Act. Together, the programs cover more than 130 million people, from newborns to nursing home residents, and play a central role in the nation’s health care system. Five Republicans joined Democrats in voting to confirm Brooks-LaSure.
