Last week, Rhode Island's Health and Human Services Committee approved Kathleen C. Hittner, MD, as health insurance commissioner for the state, according to a report from The Providence Journal.
The position heads the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner, which is dedicated to protecting consumers, improving the quality, affordability and accessibility of the healthcare system, encouraging fair treatment of medical service providers and ensuring solvency of health insurers, according to the Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner's website.
Dr. Hittner served for nine years as president and CEO of The Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I. She is currently a clinical professor of surgery in the anesthesiology department at Brown Medical School, also in Providence.