Thomas T. Lee, who served as the chairman of the state’s medical disciplinary board for five years, stepped down from his position in August, according to his LinkedIn account.
Lee’s departure from the board came as a Newsday report found that he simultaneously led the board and lobbied for the state’s premier physician-advocacy organization.
He served as the head of the board, which regulates professional medical conduct based on state education and public health laws, from January 2020 until his departure in August. It is not currently known who is the current head of the board.
An investigation done by Newsday in May titled “Broken Practice” found 46 doctors on Long Island who held state medical licenses without restrictions or penalties for months or years despite criminal convictions, felony arrests, civil judgments or other states’ disciplinary actions. The list of doctors included people with legal settlements and fines or who faced sexual abuse allegations, according to Newsday’s report.
The investigation also found that Lee had held two positions at once. It said he was the unpaid chair of the state disciplinary board as well as a top lobbyist for the physician-advocacy organization.
In May 2024, Lee was named the executive vice president of the state medical society, a position he still holds today. The state organization, based in Westbury, is a non-profit that advocates for health-related rights and issues.
Lee has worked for other state departments in the past as well. The Westchester resident has previously served on the state governor’s task forces on the Delivery System Redesign Incentive Payment program implementation in 2015-16 and the Out-of-Network Insurance Law Implementation in 2016-17.
Efforts to immediately solicit comment from the state Department of Health on the reason for Lee’s departure were unavailing.
Efforts to contact Lee were unavailing.
