Readout of HHS Hispanic Health Summit

Secretary Becerra highlights the Biden-Harris Administrations Efforts to Advance Health Equity for the Latino Community in Remarks

On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosted the 2^nd Annual Hispanic Health Summit: Fortaleciendo Nuestra Salud. The summit builds off the first ever summit hosted last year. The summit celebrated the rich history and contributions of the Latino community and highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts and commitments to advance health equity and improve health outcomes for the Latino community. The summit brought together senior Biden-Harris Administration officials and over 150 external partners for a full day of sessions on expanding healthcare access, mental health, and women’s health.

In his remarks kicking off the summit, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the first Latino to hold the office of HHS Secretary, underscored the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to lower healthcare costs, address health equity, expand support for mental health, break down barriers to language access, and protect farmworkers and other outdoor workers from extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and other health issues driven by climate change – all of which disproportionately impact the Latino community.

“Today there are more Americans who have health insurance than ever in the history of the country. More than 300 million people today have coverage and have access to a physician. They walk in knowing that they have their own insurance - private, or public-but it’s theirs, and they can walk in and get the care that they need” said Secretary Becerra, “None of these things are luck. They are not coincidence, nor are they easy.”

Following remarks from the Secretary, senior HHS leaders, Biden-Harris Administration officials, and Latino health leaders highlighted their work to advance equity and access to health care in the Latino community. Panels and workshops topics focused on healthcare access, ACA access for DACA recipients, caregiving, environmental justice and climate change, mental health, and reproductive healthcare.

HHS has undertaken several noteworthy initiatives to improve health and human services outcomes in the Latino community. These include reducing the cost of prescription drugs through the Inflation Reduction Act, launching MedicamentosBajoPrecio.gov, a Spanish language version of LowerDrugCosts.gov, expanding the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to provide Spanish text and chat services, and efforts to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke.

Furthermore, the HHS Office for Civil Rights, through the Language Access Steering Committee, has led efforts to increase meaningful access to language assistance services to persons with limited English proficiency (LEP). OCR has also finalized comprehensive updates to Section 1557, the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act, which adopts the longstanding principle that covered entities must take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to individuals with LEP.

The following individuals participated in the forum:

• HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra
• Nanette Barragán, United States Representative and Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
• Emmy Ruiz, Assistant to the President and White House Director of Political Strategy & Outreach
• Ana Mascareñas, Counselor to the Secretary
• Bertha Alisia Guerrero, Director, HHS Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs
• Melanie Fontes Rainer, Director, HHS Office for Civil Rights
• Eduardo Cisneros, Deputy Director, HHS Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs
• Dr. Ellen Montz, Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Anna Hochberg, Principal Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, Environmental Protection Agency
• Dr. Diana Ramos, Surgeon General of California
• Lily Griego, Regional Director, HHS Region 8