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Mass. Connector Authority head to lead state's finance office

Posted On: Dec. 13, 2012 12:00 AM CST

Mass. Connector Authority head to lead state's finance office

Glen Shor, the executive director of Massachusetts' Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, will leave in early January to become secretary of the state's Executive Office of Administration and Finance, a cabinet-level position.

The Connector Authority is the Massachusetts agency responsible for administering key parts of the state's landmark 2006 health care reform law.

Mr. Shor assumed his position at the Connector Authority in June 2010, when he succeeded Jon Kingsdale, the authority's first executive director. Jean Yang, the Connector Authority's chief financial officer, will replace Mr. Shor.

The Connector Authority administers two state health insurance exchanges: Commonwealth Care, which provides state-subsidized coverage to 198,000 lower-income state residents; and Commonwealth Choice, which provides access to coverage for residents not eligible for employer coverage. While the state does not subsidize the premiums for coverage in Commonwealth Choice, which has about 43,000 enrollees, the premiums charged often are substantially lower than those in the nongroup market.

Those programs have helped Massachusetts achieve the lowest uninsured rate — 3.4% in 2011 — of any state, according to the U. S. Census Bureau.

The changes were announced Thursday by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.