Shulmin Announces New Vermont Health Access Commissioner

A health official who oversaw Rhode Island's Medicaid program has been named commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access.

Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Monday that Steven Constantino will be the new commissioner.

Constantino most recently served as secretary of Rhode Island's Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the umbrella agency that administers the state's Medicaid program and oversees its principal health and human services agencies.

Constantino served eight terms in Rhode Island's House of Representatives and was Finance Committee Chairman from 2004-2011.

In January, then-Commissioner Mark Larson said he planned to step down in March; Deputy Commissioner Lori Collins became interim commissioner. Larson oversaw the troubled rollout of Vermont's online health insurance marketplace. In September, the Vermont Health Connect website was taken down due to security problems.