The state’s healthcare advocate is stepping down from her role on Thursday to assume a new healthcare position created in the lieutenant governor’s office.
Victoria L. Veltri has been in her role for the past five years. She succeeded Kevin Lembo, who was the first to hold the position and is now the state’s Comptroller.
Veltri will be chief health policy advisor to Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, who chairs the board of Access Health CT, Connecticut’s official health insurance marketplace.
In a statement, Wyman said Veltri is an expert on healthcare and the state’s efforts to improve healthcare access and delivery.
Veltri, according to a Wyman spokeswoman, will be coordinating statewide healthcare initiatives, including implementation of the state’s healthcare innovation plan, Access Health, state agencies and others.
She will earn $150,000 in her new position, up from her current salary of $130,000. Her pay will be funded by assessments on the insurance industry administered by the Connecticut Insurance Department. The funds also support the Office of the Healthcare Advocate.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy hasn’t yet appointed Veltri’s replacement, which will need confirmation by the General Assembly.
