Skip to main content


U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government
              Here’s how you know
        Here’s how you knowDot gov**Official websites use .gov**
                 A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
                  HTTPS**Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                 A **lock** (A locked padlock) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 
  Menu Close
          Enter the terms you wish to search for.
    Search
        








  
  
    

  
      

                                      About HHS
    
                        
                              
      
      
      Programs & Services
    
                        
                              
      
      
      Grants & Contracts
    
                        
                              
      
      
      Laws & Regulations Breadcrumb
    Home
                              About
                              News
                              ICYMI: HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Joined Vice President Kamala Harris on the Fight for Freedoms Tour During Trip to Bay Area
 Navigate to:
  News
    
                                    
                                            
            
      
      
      
      Blog
    
                                    
                                            
            
      
      
      
      HHS Live
    
                                    
                                            
            
      
      
      
      Podcasts
    
                                    
                                            
            
      
      
      
      Media Guidelines for HHS EmployeesText resize icon

                    




**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 1, 2024**

        **Contact: 
                                    HHS Press Office**
          202-690-6343media@hhs.gov

          ICYMI: HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Joined Vice President Kamala Harris on the Fight for Freedoms Tour During Trip to Bay Area
    
    

      On Monday, January 29, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra joined Vice President Kamala Harris’s “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour in San Jose, California. During the tour, Secretary Becerra delivered remarks on the work that HHS is doing to protect and expand access to reproductive health care.

“We're protecting your rights to contraceptive care. We’re protecting your right to privacy as a patient or as a provider. We’re protecting your right to emergency medical care to save your life or stabilize your health,” Secretary Becerra told the crowd.

Secretary Becerra’s remarks follow a series of new actions HHS announced last week to protect and expand access to contraception in support of President Biden’s Executive Order to strengthen access to affordable, high-quality contraception and family planning services.

Secretary Becerra delivers remarks at Vice President Harris’s “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour.

*Secretary Becerra delivers remarks at Vice President Harris’s “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour.*

Following the tour event, Secretary Becerra visited University of California, San Francisco's (UCSF) campus for a conversation with OB-GYN providers and medical students on reproductive health care access. During the conversation, the Secretary heard directly from providers about the increase of out-of-state patients seeking care in California. "Patients who are pregnant are coming to San Francisco from far away because they can't get care within their states...from places like Tennessee, even Florida, we've seen patients from Georgia," said Dr. Eleanor Drey, a UCSF Professor and Medical Director of San Francisco General's Abortion Clinic.

On Tuesday, January 30, Secretary Becerra participated in an event with Covered California in San Francisco to mark the record-breaking number of Americans – 21.3 million – who enrolled in coverage through marketplaces during the 2024 Open Enrollment Period. During the event, Secretary Becerra talked about the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued its commitment to making health insurance available and affordable to everyone, and how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) have helped the Administration keep that commitment by making Marketplace coverage more affordable. Thanks to the IRA and ARP, four in five HealthCare.gov customers were able to find health care coverage for $10 or less per month for plan year 2024 after subsidies.

Secretary Becerra speaks to health care advocates at an event marking the record-breaking 21.3 million new enrollees receiving coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

*Secretary Becerra speaks to health care advocates at an event marking the record-breaking 21.3 million new enrollees receiving coverage through the Affordable Care Act.*

**Read and watch more about Secretary Becerra’s events in California:**

**KTVU (FOX) - Oakland, CA:****UCSF doctors share abortion care stories and research with Sec. Becerra**

*Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra arrived at UCSF on a fact-finding mission Monday, meeting with OBGYN doctors and professors to discuss front-line stories of how abortion care has changed since the Supreme Court's decision that overturned Roe vs. Wade opened to door for some states to adopt abortion restrictions.*

*"We continue to collect the data where we can put out information that helps inform the policy decisions that Congress is making, the states are making," Becerra said.*

**KGO-SF (ABC) - San Francisco, CA**

Secretary Becerra Photo: Final Push to Enroll in Covered California.

**KSTS (Telemundo) - San Francisco, CA******

Secretary Xavier Becerra Health and Human Services Telemundo Photo :

**Univision:****Kamala Harris visitó el Área de la Bahía para defender los derechos reproductivos de las mujeres**

Secretary Xavier Becerra photo on the Fight for Freedoms Tour During Trip to Bay Area

**KRON-SF (MyTV) - San Francisco, CA****:**

Secretary Xavier Becerra photo on the Fight for Freedoms Tour During Trip to Bay Area

**KCBS-AM (Radio) - San Francisco, CA****:**

*Secretary Xavier Becerra: The Dobbs decision has now created a situation where the quality of your health care care depends on your zip code. If you're a woman.*

*KCBS’s Kris Ankarlo: Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says before the Dobbs decision, his Department was working to close healthcare gaps.*

*Secretary Xavier Becerra: It's made our job more difficult. There are more people now who have bigger gaps that they have to try to avoid in order to get to care that they need. depends on your zip code. If you're a woman.*
  

    ###
    Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other news materials are available at https://www.hhs.gov/news.Like HHS on Facebook, follow HHS on Twitter @HHSgov, and sign up for HHS Email Updates.Last revised: February 1, 2024

  
  
  







  Sign Up for Email Updates

Receive the latest updates from the Secretary, Blogs, and News Releases

Sign Up







  Subscribe to RSS
    

      Receive latest updates







  Related News Releases
    

      HHS Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of the U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence with Fact Sheet of Recent Accomplishments
  

Secretary Becerra Statement on the Proposed Menthol Cigarette Rule
  

Statement by Secretary Becerra on the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget







  Related Blog Posts
    

      OCIO Embracing Diversity: A Celebration of Cultures through Food
  

Navigating Section 752:  Insights from Program Managers on Success, Challenges, and Tools for Change
  

OCIO’s “Team of Teams”

                    
  


Media Inquiries

For general media inquiries, please contact media@hhs.gov.







  Content created by Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) Content last reviewed February 1, 2024 Back to top
    Contact HHS
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      Careers
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      HHS FAQs
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      Nondiscrimination NoticeHHS Archive
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      Accessibility Statement
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      Privacy Policy
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      Viewers & PlayersBudget/Performance
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      Inspector General
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      Web Site Disclaimers
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      EEO/No Fear ActFOIA
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      The White House
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      USA.gov
    
                        
                                            
      
      
      Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
        Sign Up for Email Updates

Receive the latest updates from the Secretary, Blogs, and News Releases.

Sign Up
  HHS Headquarters
          200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
                  Washington, D.C. 20201
                  Toll Free Call Center: 1-877-696-6775​