Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra to Keynote Pasadena Health Equity Summit

Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra will deliver the closing keynote address at the Health Equity Leadership Summit in Pasadena this July. The two-day event aims to bring together healthcare leaders around a shared vision for advancing equity in California’s healthcare system.

“You recognize that health is not merely the absence of disease, but a fundamental human right, one that is inextricably linked to social, economic, and environmental factors,” Becerra said during a recent keynote address at UC Berkeley School of Public Health commencement ceremony in May.

The summit will take place at The Westin Pasadena 191 North Los Robles Avenue from 11:00 a.m. on July 10 to 2:30 p.m. on July 11. The event is hosted by Physicians for a Healthy California, the charitable arm of the California Medical Association, according to a June 25 announcement from the organization.

In his keynote address, Becerra will reflect on what organizers describe as the “national retreat from equity” and explore what’s at stake for California’s most vulnerable populations.

The summit comes at a time of significant challenge and change in the health and policy landscape.

Becerra brings extensive experience to the discussion, having served as the first Latino to hold the position of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services from March 19, 2021 to January 20. He previously served as California’s Attorney General and spent over 20 years in Congress.

“Your time at Berkeley has been shaped by an institution renowned for its legacy of social justice, its pioneering research, and its unwavering commitment to health equity—and you’re not afraid to say those words,” Becerra told UC Berkeley graduates during his May commencement address.

During his tenure as HHS Secretary, Becerra was instrumental in implementing Medicare drug price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act. The negotiations for 10 high-cost drugs in 2023 achieved discounts of 38% to 79%, according to his official record.

Raised in a working-class Sacramento family, Becerra has long advocated for lowering prescription drug costs, safeguarding patients with preexisting conditions, and expanding coverage for low-income, immigrant, and marginalized communities. “My parents came to California with $12 in their pockets. They built a life they were proud of,” Becerra said when describing his family background.

The summit will feature other prominent speakers including Uché Blackstock, best-selling author, speaker, physician and founder and Chief Advisor of Advancing Health Equity. She will participate in a fireside chat discussing her best-selling book, “LEGACY: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine.” Blackstock has been recognized as a national leader in health equity by Forbes (2019), Fortune (2023) and TIME (2024), which named her one of the “100 Most Influential People in Health.”

Another featured speaker is Manuel Pastor, Ph.D., a leading expert on equity, economic justice, and social change who serves as director of the USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute.

The summit will include the Health Equity Leadership Awards Reception on July 10. Through trainings, keynote talks and panel discussions, attendees will engage with a community working to advance meaningful change in healthcare.

Physicians for a Healthy California was founded in 1963 and is dedicated to improving community health, growing a diverse physician workforce, and promoting health equity. The organization operates as the charitable arm of the California Medical Association, which represents more than 50,000 physicians in all specialties and modes of practice.

With growing challenges to health equity, this Summit offers space to reflect, reconnect, and recommit.

For more information and to register please visit: phcdocs.org/health-equity