Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1223313
www.HartfordBusiness.com • March 23, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 19 You can see potential risk all the way down the line. A C A D I A I N S U R A N C E I S A L O C A L R E G I O N A L P R O P E RT Y A N D C A S U A LT Y I N S U R E R D E D I C AT E D T O S E RV I N G L O C A L B U S I N E S S E S A N D C O M M U N I T I E S . F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N A B O U T W O R K I N G W I T H A C A D I A I N S U R A N C E , V I S I T U S O N L I N E : A C A D I A I N S U R A N C E . C O M M A I N E | C O N N E C T I C U T | M A S S A C H U S E T T S N E W H A M P S H I R E | N E W Y O R K | V E R M O N T ACADIAINSURANCE.COM 800.773.4300 Closer Coverage SM means more value, delivered with a personal touch. You've worked hard to develop a consistent operating process. An unforeseen interruption means costly consequences. You need an insurance company that understands that. Not just from an insurer's perspective, but from yours. At Acadia Insurance, we have dedicated local claims and underwriting specialists ready to provide the high quality hands-on service that creates insurance solutions tailored to meet your needs. Aside from the occasional tense moment during cross-examination, the proceeding mostly comes across as civil, with both sides sticking to dry, technical arguments about metrics that can make or break an applica- tion to OHS. At the end of a recent public hearing, Foxman even said he was in "an awkward position" to be opposing Radiol- ogy Associates, whose physicians he referred to as colleagues and whom he holds in high regard. In a statement provided for this story, Foxman said the mat- ter "illustrates the complexities of healthcare policy and decision making." Jefferson's intent, he said, is to "provide perspectives" that would be helpful to OHS in evaluating the application. "Overall, we have confi- dence that the final determination by OHS will be in the best interests of the citizens of Connecticut," he said. An OHS spokesman said the agency doesn't comment on pend- ing cases. Accommodating healthcare's evolution Much of Radiology Associates' case has involved two competitors arguing over technical rules and calculations. But Radiology Associates has also sought to raise a broader question about the certificate-of-need (CON) process and whether the state's reg- ulatory framework helps or hinders the healthcare industry's long-stated goal of abandoning a fee-for-service business model in favor of emerg- ing network designs and contracts that emphasize lower-cost commu- nity settings, increased coordination and improved health out- comes. Twohig has argued that Connecticut's rules for de- termining whether a new scanner is necessary in a particular area are outdated and could restrict the way networks deploy equipment. Specifically, more healthcare orga- nizations are trying to move services out of hospitals and into lower-cost, suburban settings, but OHS rules could impede those efforts. Levine, the Trumbull physician who is critical of certificate of need, and the Connecticut State Medical Society have argued that provid- ers should be allowed to buy all the imaging equipment they want, while others have said that a free-market approach would drive up costs. A 2017 state task force that studied Connecticut's rules recom- mended no significant changes to imaging-related approvals. Imaging Boost Additional revenues Radiology Associates of Hartford projects it will earn from its planned Bloomfield expansion. Fiscal Year Revenues FY 2020 $1,086,976 FY 2021 $1,480,031 FY 2022 $1,813,797 Total $4,380,804 Source: CT Office of Health Strategy Radiology Associates of Hartford is an exclusive provider for St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and several other Trinity Health Of New England-owned hospitals. PHOTO | HBJ FILE