New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has nominated the deputy commissioner at the state’s largest agency to take over as commissioner.
Nicholas Toumpas of Rye has served as acting commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services since September, when the previous commissioner, John Stephen, resigned. Stephen, who is running for Congress, resigned about two months before his four year term was set to end.
In a statement, Lynch said Toumpas shares his goals for increasing access to affordable health insurance and reducing health care costs through innovation.
Toumpas has been deputy commissioner since 2002. Prior to that he worked for several high-tech companies.
Lynch plans to nominate Toumpas to the Executive Council on Wednesday. The council must confirm the nomination.