Harris Previously Served as Chief of Staff to Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Chief of Staff to Two Assistant Secretaries at HHS, and Aide to Senate HELP Committee Chairmen Tom Harkin and Ted Kennedy
Washington, DC — Andrea Harris is joining Protect Our Care on February 6 as Director of Policy Programs. She brings extensive experience from her service in the legislative and executive branches, including expertise in health coverage, drug pricing, and hospital pricing policy, which will further Protect Our Care’s work to make high-quality, affordable, equitable health care a right, and not a privilege, for everyone in America. Read Andrea’s full biography here.
Harris will lead Protect Our Care’s work to support implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and protect it from GOP efforts to repeal or sabotage the law. Harris’s work will be central to POC’s ongoing efforts to build on the Inflation Reduction Act and to further reduce drug costs and permanently extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that made coverage more affordable for millions of people. Harris will also help organize against efforts to overturn key components of the ACA through the courts, including the law’s provision guaranteeing free preventive care relied on by millions of Americans. Additionally, Harris will support POC’s advocacy for closing the Medicaid coverage gap, reducing harmful inequities in care, and strengthening coverage for mothers, children, and families across the country.
“Andrea has dedicated her career to making quality, affordable health care a right for every American. She has been on the front lines of enacting, implementing, and strengthening the Affordable Care Act,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Andrea played a critical role in making health insurance more affordable as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Andrea’s experience working for health care leaders in Congress and at the Department of Health and Human Services will be a tremendous asset to Protect Our Care’s work to make high-quality, affordable coverage and equitable care a reality across America. I had the privilege of working with Andrea at HHS and am delighted to have her bring her talents to Protect Our Care.”
“Andrea understands how to develop, enact, and implement policies that save lives and make health care more accessible, and she’s done it,” said U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14). “I am grateful she led my team to introduce and advance the Health Care Affordability Act and Black Maternal Health Momnibus, and I know she will continue to be an asset to the American people at Protect Our Care as they push to lower health care costs for families.”
“Everyone deserves high-quality, affordable health care as a fundamental right; it shouldn’t be for the privileged few,” said Andrea Harris. “This belief has guided my career, and over the past decade Democrats in Congress and the White House have made considerable gains in making coverage and prescription drugs more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans. As the GOP constantly seeks to overturn these benefits, the team at Protect Our Care fights tirelessly to protect and strengthen health care and prescription drug affordability. I am honored to join them and be part of this essential mission.”
Andrea Harris Bio
Andrea Harris has 15 years of experience in federal health policy and has held senior roles in the legislative and executive branches. She most recently served as Chief of Staff to Rep. Lauren Underwood, a nurse and health policy expert, helping enact legislation to lower health care and prescription drug costs, and improve maternal health outcomes and end disparities. During the Obama Administration, Andrea served as Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary for Health and Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary for Legislation at HHS, helping implement the Affordable Care Act and fund family planning programs. She began her career in public service working on the Affordable Care Act, women’s health, and children’s health as an aide to Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairmen Ted Kennedy and Tom Harkin. Andrea earned a Master’s degree in health policy and economics from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree from UCLA.