Kathleen Holt
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(Hartford, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced the appointment of Kathleen Unger Holt of Mansfield as Health Care Advocate for the State of Connecticut.
Holt most recently served as Associate Director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, a national nonprofit legal organization focused on Connecticut, working to advance comprehensive Medicare coverage, health equity, and access to quality health care for seniors and people with disabilities. In this role, which she has held since 2014, she led the organization’s advocacy and outreach efforts in Connecticut and across the nation, worked with lawmakers on developing Medicare-related health care bills at the state and federal levels, and spoke as an advocate to raise public awareness of health care issues.
She was recommended to Governor Lamont by the Health Care Advocacy Advisory Committee, a bipartisan group of legislative leadership appointees that recently completed its legally mandated process of searching for and evaluating potential nominees for the position and then submitted a list of recommended candidates to the Governor.
“I am very pleased that Kathy Holt has accepted our offer to be Connecticut’s next health care advocate. She has great experience both statewide and at the national level helping and advocating for people to access the coverage they need, especially for seniors, people with disabilities and those who often face barriers to obtaining health insurance,” said Governor Lamont. “Kathy will be a great partner for our Administration, the Legislature and the people of Connecticut in helping to shape the policies we need to enhance access to affordable, high-quality health insurance.”
“I am pleased to accept Governor Lamont’s appointment as Connecticut’s Health Care Advocate and work to ensure all Connecticut residents have the greatest access to affordable, quality health care possible,” Holt said. “The Health Care Advocate Office not only helps individuals access health care services, but also represents the collective voice of all Connecticut patients. I look forward to working with health care providers, insurers, employers, other state agencies, and state and federal legislators to coordinate, deliver, oversee and improve health care in Connecticut and position Connecticut as a health care model for the nation.”
Raised in Newtown, Holt began his career at Cigna, an insurance company in Bloomfield, developing strategies to improve the claims process. After earning an MBA in Healthcare Administration from the University of Connecticut, he worked as a hospital administrator, first at New Britain Memorial Hospital and then at Northwest Hospital in Seattle, Washington, where he helped protect patient rights and expand patient services.
After earning her law degree from Seattle University School of Law in 1993, Ms. Holt became a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Seattle. In this position, she wrote health care law opinions, litigated cases in federal court and served as in-house counsel for administrative law judges.
In 1997, after the birth of her second child, who was born with a severe disability, Holt founded a Seattle-area law firm to advocate for the needs of seniors and people with disabilities, which she led until her appointment at the Center for Medicare Advocacy.
In addition to his professional work, Holt volunteers for several organizations, including as chairman of the board of directors for Lawrence Memorial Hospital in the Yale New Haven Health System, a board member for Team Gleason, an advocacy group for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a commissioner for the Mansfield Housing Authority, which provides safe and affordable housing to low- and moderate-income families, and a public servant for the Connecticut State Teachers Retirement Board.
Holt will begin serving as health care advocate on an interim basis beginning September 30, 2024. The Governor’s Office will submit Holt’s nomination to the Connecticut General Assembly for advice and consent at the start of the next regular legislative session, which begins January 8, 2025. If confirmed by the Assembly during the regular session, Holt will begin serving a four-year term.
Holt replaces the most recent health care advocate, Ted Doolittle, who left his position last year to be appointed as a federal immigration judge. Since Doolittle’s resignation, Shaun King, general counsel for the Health Care Advocate’s Office, has served as acting health care advocate.
The Health Care Advocate position will be responsible for leading the Office of the Health Care Advocate, a state agency that provides free, direct legal services, advice, and support to Connecticut families and businesses facing health insurance claim denials and other issues with public or private health care coverage. Its staff assists in resolving disputes with health insurance companies and strives to ensure consumers receive high-quality, affordable health care. Additionally, as subject matter experts on issues related to health care access and coverage, the Health Care Advocate will provide education and feedback to legislators, regulators, and other policy makers in support of pro-consumer changes to the laws, regulations, policies, and other systemic structures that make up the health care landscape in Connecticut and across the nation.
