ACAP Recognizes Rep. Diana DeGette for Leadership in Improving Health Coverage Programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 17, 2017

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515

 

ACAP RECOGNIZES REPRESENTATIVE DIANA DEGETTE
FOR LEADERSHIP IN IMPROVING PUBLICLY-SPONSORED HEALTH COVERAGE PROGRAMS

DENVER— The Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) today honored Representative Diana DeGette, the U.S. Representative for Colorado’s First District and Chief Deputy Whip, with its 2017 Congressional Leadership Award.

Over her ten terms of service in Congress, Representative DeGette has established a distinguished record of leadership around health issues, playing pivotal roles in the passage of the Affordable Care Act as well as the creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. More recently, she led bipartisan efforts to pass the 21st Century Cures Act. She also chairs the bipartisan Congressional Diabetes Caucus.

ACAP honored Representative DeGette today for her leadership on H.R. 2843, the Medicaid and CHIP Quality Improvement Act, which would build on current measures of adult and pediatric health care quality and provide metrics and incentives for improvement. It would spur better quality by facilitating comparisons across delivery systems and across state Medicaid programs.

“Over the course of her service in the House, Representative DeGette has long been a leader in developing pragmatic and bipartisan solutions for vexing health care issues,” said ACAP CEO Margaret A. Murray. “Where some on Capitol Hill are satisfied with raising easy questions about health coverage, she looks for hard answers and always works across the aisle—even in partisan times. We appreciate her leadership in improving quality in Medicaid and CHIP, and are honored to recognize her today.”

The ACAP Congressional Leadership Award recognizes policymakers who demonstrate a career-long dedication or exceptional work in protecting and strengthening vital programs that improve the health and well-being of people who have low incomes. Previous winners include Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Congressman Gene Green of Texas, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, Senator Max Baucus of Montana, and Representative Henry Waxman of California.