Levine Has Centered Health Equity In Her Current Position. “In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Levine said she was proud of the work she has been able to accomplish at the Pennsylvania Department of Health. She highlighted her efforts to address the opioid epidemic by developing “innovative models to get people into treatment and into recovery" and the work her team has done to fight diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C. I am proud of the work we have done as an administration to address health equity, and the work I have done personally to raise awareness about LGBTQ equity issues,” she said. "And I am extremely proud of the work we have done during the last year to save lives in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic. I look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve Pennsylvanians, and all Americans, as part of the Biden Administration if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed to this position.” [Washington Post, 1/19/21]
Levine Has Demonstrated Strong Public Health Leadership Capabilities. “Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond,” Biden said in a statement. “She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.” [Government Executive, 1/19/21]
Levine Pledged To Review Every Maternal Death In Effort To Combat Maternal Mortality In Pennsylvania. “This is a national issue, and there has been a significant increase in maternal mortality and morbidity, but our new committee is the Maternal Mortality Committee (established this year by Act 24). In the United States in 1999, the death rate was 9.8 women per 100,000 live births; in 2014, it was 18. In Pennsylvania it also has been rising. In Pennsylvania, from 2012 to 2016, the rate was 11.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. For Caucasian women, it was 8.7. For African-American women, it was 27.2. So (it’s been) below the national average, which is good, but still rising with a significant racial disparity. No one knows exactly why the maternal mortality rate has gone up in the United States. Our committee has only had one meeting, so I can’t tell you exactly why in Pennsylvania, but we hope to learn that. That is the purpose of the committee. We are going to review every death.” [Lancaster Online, 3/20/20]
In Response To Transphobia Hurled Her Way She Has Pointed Out The Inequitable Burden Carried By Transgender Women Of Color. “Despite a Supreme Court ruling just a month earlier barring employment discrimination for gay and transgender people, Levine said, Pennsylvania is one of many states where LGBTQ people can still be denied housing and public accommodations in places that do not have local nondiscrimination ordinances. Transgender women of color in particular face high rates of violence and homicide, she added.” [Washington Post, 1/19/21]
Levine Has Referenced Being Trans As Guiding Fuel For Her Career And Advocacy. “She transitioned in 2011 and, while her immediate family has mostly been accepting, she knows that existing publicly as a transgender person in America remains dangerous. “It just fuels my desire to do my job and to advocate,” she told The Washington Post in 2016, when she was just one of a handful of transgender public officials in the country.” [The Hill, 1/19/21]
Levine Prioritized Issues Which Adversely Impact Marginalized Communities During Her Tenure As Pennsylvania’s Department Of Health Secretary. “In the past year and a half, our priorities were the opioid crisis, medical marijuana and the rural health initiative — an initiative to save rural hospitals, which are under stress in our current fee-for-service environment.” [Lancaster Online, 3/20/20]
Levine Has Sought To Protect Pennsylvanians From Transphobic and Homophobic Federal Policies. “Pennsylvania and Governor Tom Wolf have been committed to working to ensure the rights of all citizens. This includes the state's LGBTQ Affairs Commission, the first of its kind in the country. The commission exists to ensure that no one faces barriers or obstacles based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. "We continue to decry actions by the federal government that threaten the very health and well-being of some of our most vulnerable citizens," Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. "The continuous attacks on the rights of transgender Americans, must stop. Gov. Wolf has shown that protecting the rights of all Pennsylvanians is essential to our continued success and prosperity -- the federal government should do the same." [Pennsylvania Pressroom, 8/14/19]