Kathy Holt, acting state health care advocate, told the Regulation and Protection Subcommittee on Feb. 14 that her office can expand consumer assistance but needs additional staff and clearer statutory roles if new responsibilities are added.

The Office of the Healthcare Advocate (OHA) is funded by assessments on insurers and currently budgets 19 full‑time positions, Holt said. Two positions were called out in testimony: the State Cannabis Ombudsman (an existing post within OHA’s budget) and a recently vacated senior attorney role OHA wants to fill urgently. Holt asked lawmakers for funding for two additional staff to support communications, outreach, case management modernization and data analysis to increase the agency’s reach and to support possible new responsibilities identified in the governor’s budget.

Holt also opposed a budget proposal that would transfer the newly created Office of the Behavioral Health Advocate into OHA. “The Office of the Behavioral Healthcare Advocate's mission, primarily to serve providers, is very different than our mission, which focuses on and serves consumers,” she said. Holt and her general counsel said mixing provider‑advocacy and consumer‑advocacy roles risks conflicts of interest and consumer confusion; they proposed the behavioral‑health entity be renamed the Behavioral Health Provider Advocate if it is to remain focused on providers.

On a separate item, Holt said OHA supports Senate Bill 1192 (hospital financial assistance) and can host information on hospital assistance programs, but that the agency would need additional staff or vendor funding to manage application processing or to build and maintain online tools. “We would be happy to expand our assistance…if we had additional staff, a person or two, to perform those duties,” Holt said.

Holt told lawmakers OHA recovers substantial value for consumers through its work and urged continued assessment funding from insurers. Sean (last name not specified in testimony), present as OHA staff, joined Holt in taking questions about the proposed transfers and staffing needs.

Ending: OHA will provide further details to the committee on staffing and the resource needs to host hospital financial‑assistance tools, and members signaled interest in clarifying the statutory mission and structure of behavioral‑health advocacy to avoid conflicts between consumer and provider representation.