Kevin P. Lembo, MPA leads the Office of the Healthcare Advocate for the State of Connecticut – advocating for patients and their families in their dealings with the health insurance industry and other aspects of the healthcare delivery system. Appointed in December 2004 and confirmed by the legislature, Lembo is serving his second 4-year term as head of this small, independent state agency that helps untangle the complexities of the healthcare system for all Connecticut residents.
Kevin has an extensive background in government and healthcare. He worked for 6 years with Connecticut State Comptroller, Nancy Wyman, on issues as diverse as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the Rainy Day Fund, healthcare and health insurance as it relates to state employees, retirees, municipalities, non-profits and small businesses.
In the early 1990s, Lembo was part of a team that designed and implemented the first facility-based, long- term home health care program in northeastern New York. This innovative approach to home health care helped to prevent premature, permanent admissions to nursing facilities and enhanced the quality of life for those served.
Following his work at the home care program, Lembo was named Program Director of an AIDS education, prevention and primary care program, partially funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and located at a federally qualified Community Health Center. During that time, he was the co-chair of the Ryan White Care Network and charged with making funding recommendations to the federal government, and for monitoring the local coordination of services.
Lembo holds a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree from California State University. He is a 2004 Toll Fellow of the Council of State Governments and has been honored for his leadership by the New York State Public Health Association, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Chiropractic Association, Psychological Association, Radiological Society, and CT Association of Optometrists. Lembo is a funded consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and a member of the National and Regional Health Steering committees for the Council of State Governments, as well as a Clinical Instructor at the Yale School of Nursing. In 2007, the Connecticut Psychiatric Society named Lembo their “Citizen of the Year” for his work to improve mental health access. In 2004, Governor Ernie Fletcher commissioned Lembo a “Kentucky Colonel”.
A native of Paterson, New Jersey, Lembo resides in Guilford, CT with his spouse; they have three children.
