Regan Hunt, executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health, leaves for a new position at insurer Humana Inc.

The executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health, a group that worked for the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is now working for Humana Inc. as a product development consultant.

Regan Hunt

Regan Hunt switched jobs after working in a way that won her the Consumer Health Advocate of the Year Award by Families USA, which cited her work for expansion of Medicaid in Kentucky and her efforts to increase health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. In her new job, she will be a product development consultant, working on design of benefits for those covered by the Medicaid expansion.

During her time at KVH, Hunt worked with a coalition of more than 200 partners to address the many health care needs of Kentuckians, including access, prevention, quality and value. Hunt said in an interview that she was most proud of  KVH's role in enrolling so many Kentuckians in coverage during 2013-15.

"Kentucky is one of those states that did it right," she said.

Hunt said that she was also proud of the group's collaboration between Gov. Steve Beshear, the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services: "We all worked together and that was an amazing thing ... all working together to make sure that people got the information that they needed and got covered. ... It was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing." KVH is not a lobbying group, but many of its members are.

At Humana, Hunt will research the Medicaid expansion landscape in other states to determine what new beneficiaries that population might need or want in a benefits package, beyond what is required by law.

"I am an advocate, probably until the day I die," she said, noting that she will now work as an individual advocate, instead of under the umbrella of KVH, to help people gain access to health coverage. "I've been doing that since I was 22, so it is not something that I am going to give up doing."

Hunt is a native of Pike County, She earned her undergraduate degree at Transylvania University and her Masters in Public Administration degree from the University of Kentucky. She also holds a certificate in health-care management from the University of North Carolina, according to the KVH website.

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