Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 20, 2025 Both he and Charmel said Medicaid pays just over 60% of the cost of care, while Medicare pays more than 80%. They also raised concerns about the state's potential investment in any deal for the hospitals. "I hope it's not just the state pouring cash into those hospitals and kind of funding their losses," Capece said. "That would not be good for everyone else, because that would mean there's less resources to assist the industry as a whole." Value-based care In an effort to help manage its costs, UConn Health last November joined a group called the Value Care Alliance. The alliance was founded in 2013 by Griffin Health and Middlesex Health "because we wanted to see if we could get the benefit of 'systemness' without giving up our independence," Charmel said. The alliance allows members not only to leverage purchasing power, but also promote value-based care and negotiate reimbursement rates with insurers based on that model. Value-based care seeks to move away from the traditional fee-for-ser- vice model, and instead pay providers based on the health outcomes of their patients and quality of care. "UConn is a value player," Charmel said. "Their rates are really low, and they're a capable organization. So the question is, the new system that they're developing, is that going to be the model of value-based care delivery?" He said he's not sure, because UConn and the other three hospitals all have "overhead that needs to be covered. So, they'll have one foot in each boat." Both Charmel and Capece said their independent hospitals have had conversations about joining larger health systems over the years, but have rejected them. "We're independent because we believe that's the best way to serve the healthcare needs of the communities we serve," Capece said. No good alternative But maintaining that independence is getting harder, according to Angela Mattie, a professor in the schools of busi- ness and medicine at Quinnipiac University. She has also served on hospital boards and has 20 years of experience in health care, including with insurer Anthem. Mattie said UConn Health affiliating with or investing in other hospitals would be a positive if it helps save community players like Day Kimball. "The reality of the marketplace is that the small community hospitals are having difficulty surviving," Mattie said. "And you can see Day Kimball … has debt and back taxes of $40 million, and they continue to have operating losses." The public does need answers to some questions about the proposed deals, Mattie said. "Is the state best equipped to lead and manage a healthcare system?" she asked. "And what are the accountability measures that we're going to require to assure that, whomever leads this, is providing the best value and care, the lowest cost and the highest quality and safety possible?" Those are all questions Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock) hopes will be answered before any investment is finalized. While he has reser- vations about any potential UConn Health deals, Gordon said he believes the state has little choice, especially if the alternative is a private equity firm acquiring the hospitals, something which he said resulted in a disaster for Prospect Medical's hospitals. "I think this could be a positive in the long run, and could save the state money in the long run, if it makes wise investments," said Gordon, who is a member of both the legis- lature's Appropriations and Public Health committees. Hospital Overhaul Continued from page 13 CT HOSPITALS WITH LOWEST AVERAGE COMMERCIAL REIMBURSEMENT RATES The following list shows the eight Connecticut hospitals with the lowest average commercial reimbursement rates for a standardized inpatient case. HOSPITAL AVERAGE COMMERCIAL RATE Day Kimball Hospital $15,542 Charlotte Hungerford Hospital $15,972 St. Mary's Hospital $18,819 Griffin Hospital $19,084 Bristol Hospital $19,288 John Dempsey Hospital $19,772 Manchester Memorial Hospital $19,935 Waterbury Hospital $21,549 Note: Yale New Haven Hospital had the state's highest rate at $38,649. | Source: RAND Corp. report, "Prices Paid to Hospitals by Private Health Plans," Round 5.1, 2024 Angela Mattie Jeff Gordon DEADLINE | JANUARY 9 DEADLINE | JANUARY 9 NOMINATIONS OPEN! NOMINATIONS OPEN! SCAN TO NOMINATE OR VISIT: HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM/HBJ-EVENTS Submit a nomination for next years class of women who are making a difference in Connecticut!

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