HARTFORD, Conn. — Gov. Ned Lamont has nominated Mansfield resident Kathleen Unger Holt to be Connecticut’s next healthcare advocate, according to a release from the governor's office on Wednesday.
Most recently, Holt served as the associate director for the Center of Medicare Advocacy, which is a Connecticut-focused, national, nonprofit law organization that endeavors to advance access to comprehensive Medicare coverage, health equity and quality healthcare for older adults and people with disabilities.
Lamont’s office said she held the role since 2014 and helped lead the organization’s Connecticut and nationwide advocacy and outreach efforts while working with lawmakers on the development of Medicare-related healthcare bills on the state and federal levels. Holt has spoken often as an advocate, raising public awareness regarding healthcare issues.
The Healthcare Advocate Advisory Committee recommended Holt to Lamont, according to his office. The group consists of appointees of bipartisan legislative leaders and recently undertook a statutorily required process to search for and evaluate candidates to be nominated for the role. The committee offered Lamont a list of endorsed candidates before he made his selection.
“I am very excited that Kathy Holt has accepted our offer to serve as Connecticut’s next healthcare advocate because she has an incredible amount of experience, both here in our state and on a national level, in helping people access the coverage they need and advocating on their behalf, especially for people who are older, people who have disabilities and people who frequently face barriers to obtaining health insurance,” Lamont said.
Lamont added that Holt will be an excellent partner for the administration, the legislature and Connecticut residents to help develop the policies necessary to strengthen affordable, high-quality health insurance.
Holt said she is thrilled to accept Lamont’s nomination and is eager to help ensure every Connecticut resident has the best possible access to affordable, quality healthcare.
“In addition to assisting individuals obtain access to healthcare services, the Office of the Healthcare Advocate represents the collective voice of all Connecticut patients,” Holt said. “I look forward to collaborating with healthcare providers, insurers, employers, other state agencies and state and federal legislators to coordinate, deliver, oversee and improve healthcare in Connecticut, making Connecticut a healthcare model for the country.”
Lamont’s office said Holt was raised in Newtown and began her career working with the insurance company Cigna in Bloomfield. There, she developed insurance claim process improvement strategies.
Holt then earned a Master of Business Administration in healthcare management from the University of Connecticut and helped protect patient rights and expand patient services as a hospital administrator at New Britain Memorial Hospital and Northwest Hospital in Seattle, according to Lamont’s office.
In 1993, Holt earned her law degree from Seattle University School of Law and became a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Seattle, where she authored health law opinions, litigated in federal court and worked as an in-house attorney for administrative law judges.
After the birth of her second child, who was born with disabilities in 1997, Holt founded a Seattle-based law practice to champion the needs of older adults and those who have disabilities. Lamont’s office said she led this practice until shifting to the Center for Medicare Advocacy a decade ago.
Holt also has committed countless hours as a volunteer, contributing to multiple causes from ALS to housing to education.
Lamont’s office said she will begin serving as the interim healthcare advocate on Sept. 30. When the next regular legislative session begins on Jan. 8, 2025, Lamont’s office will forward Holt’s nomination to the Connecticut General Assembly for advice and consent. When she is confirmed by the legislature during the regular session, Holt will start serving a full four-year term.
Holt is expected to succeed the most recent healthcare advocate, Ted Doolittle, who stepped down from the position in 2023 to accept an appointment as a federal immigration judge. Sean King, who is the general counsel for the Office of the Healthcare Advocate, has been serving as acting healthcare advocate during this time.
According to Lamont’s office, the healthcare advocate serves as head of the Office of the Healthcare Advocate, a state agency that provides free legal services, advice and support to Connecticut families and businesses that are facing health insurance claim denials or other obstacles to their public or private health coverage.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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