Connecticut’s General Assembly has decided to keep the state’s health care advocate, defying Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s cost-cutting plan to eliminate his office.
The state Senate endorsed Kevin Lembo’s confirmation for a second four-year term last week, following a similar reappointment vote last month by the state House.
The state Office of the Health Care Advocate, created by the General Assembly in 1999, helps consumers navigate the health insurance system and challenge denials of service and claims.
Cost-Savings Goal
Rell proposed eliminating the office and Lembo’s position to cut costs, saying Connecticut residents already can get help from the state’s public health, insurance and social services departments.
But Lembo and his supporters say other agencies, such as the Office of Health Care Access, do not have the staffing or the mission to handle consumer problems.
The Office of Health Care Access, for example, handles applications for new or expanded health care facilities proposed in the state, but refers consumers with insurance problems to Lembo.
Lawmakers who supported his reappointment say his office’s $1 million annual budget is covered by industry fees, not the state budget.
They also say it has had a 75 percent success rate in winning appeals for more than 7,500 people served since 2004, saving about $14 million in insurance costs.
“Kevin Lembo is an extraordinary resource for the state of Connecticut,’’ state Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said Tuesday.
“His work and advocacy has been recognized throughout the nation, and we are very fortunate to have him continue as Connecticut’s health care advocate.’’
Several lawmakers say they have referred constituents to Lembo for help and have been pleased by the results.
Constituent’s Fight
In a recent case, a constituent of state Sen. Mary Ann Handley, D-Manchester, was able to fight an insurance company’s insistence that she travel to Pittsburgh for a heart transplant. Instead, Handley said, the woman was allowed to get the transplant in Boston to be closer to her family in Connecticut.
With Lembo’s term nearing an end, an advisory committee recently submitted his name to Rell for reappointment. Rell did not act, so after 60 days it automatically went to the legislature for consideration.
