Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com December 22, 2014 • Hartford Business Journal 27 Industry Focus E c o n o m i c F o r E c a s t mAy 12 15 Ct hospital execs' paychecks top $1M At least 15 Connecticut hospital executives received pay packages over $1 million last fiscal year, a new report says. The state's largest hospital — Yale New Haven Hospital — had six executives who received million-dollar plus pay days last fiscal year, while Hartford Hospital had two execs earn over $1 million, according to a report from the state's Office of Health Care Access, which regulates hospitals. The OHCA report did not name individual administrators, but it did list the top 10 paid positions at the state's 29 acute care hospitals. The highest paid hospital executive in fiscal 2013 was Yale-New Haven President & CEO Marna P. Borgstrom, who received a total pay package of $3.3 million. That included a base salary of $2.5 million and $752,041 in fringe benefits, the report said. Borgstrom is CEO of both Yale-New Haven Hospital and its parent Yale New Haven Health System. The second highest paid administrator was Hartford Hospital's vice president of psychiatry who received $3.24 million in compensation. At least three Connecticut hospital executives made over $2 million. mArCH 17 After slow start, HealthyCt shifts gears After seeing significantly lower than expected enrollment to start the year, the state's newest insurer, HealthyCT, shifted its business plan to go after larger em- ployer group customers. The Wallingford-based nonprofit health insurer began selling insurance policies to individuals and small businesses in 2013. HealthyCT CEO Ken Lalime said pricing competition and lack of marketing were largely to blame for the slow start, but he hopes expanding sales to large firms will boost their market share. They'll continue selling to individuals and small businesses. "Our brand didn't get picked up quite as well as we hoped," Lalime said. April 14 Harvard Pilgrim pushes risk-sharing contracts As Harvard Pilgrim Health Care enters the Connecticut market, it wants to encour- age more doctors and hospitals to adopt contracts that reward quality outcomes, rather than traditional fee-for-service arrangements. It's a business model the Massachusetts health insurer is used to in its home state, which has a more progressive healthcare system than Connecticut. In the Land of Steady Habits, however, such payment models aren't as wide- spread, posing a challenge for Harvard Pilgrim at the negotiating table. "There is a greater degree of fee-for-service here," said Harvard Pilgrim CEO Eric H. Schultz. "Connecticut providers are not as involved in risk-sharing arrangements." oCTober 20 Growing Pains: Fledgling marijuana industry searches for its footing The sign marking the location of Ange- lo DeFazio's Weston Street business in Hartford is roughly 1 square foot in size, displayed about 5 feet off the ground. The other compa- nies that share the same strip mall have much larger signs near the roof of the building, easily vis- ible to cars speeding down the road. But DeFazio operates a medical marijuana dispensary, so the Department of Con- sumer Protection (DCP) said Arrow Alternative Care's sign must be smaller than a standard manila envelope, one of the many strict regulations posing challenges for the fledgling industry. "It is a pioneer industry in its infancy," said DeFazio, Arrow's president and CEO. "It is always wonderful to be on the ground floor of a pioneer industry, despite its many challenges." Connecticut's medical marijuana industry has been laying its groundwork since the legislature approved the drug's use two years ago, but now with product actually on the shelves, growers and dispensaries have had a volatile month with various issues, including: finding the right pricing structure; projecting how many patients will walk through the door; and gauging the anticipated market impact as more growers and dispensaries come online. SepTember 23 Ct's independent hospitals form new alliance More than a half-dozen independent Connecticut hospitals say they are forming an alliance that will allow them to share costs and improve care quality. Members of the "Value Care Alliance" include Derby's Griffin Hospital, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, Middlesex Hospital, Bridgeport's St. Vincent's Medical Center, and Danbury and New Milford hospitals. VCA members, which include hospitals and physicians, say the goal of the alliance is to preserve not-for-profit healthcare in their respective communities, while also helping smaller, independent care facilities find ways to cut costs and improve their care quality. The organization will be governed by a single board and executive leader- ship team with a majority of board seats being held by physicians from each hospital. Each hospital, however, will maintain their independence and local governance control. They will also share best practices, pursue efficiencies, and develop and share data and analytical capabilities. SepTember 16 Hartford Healthcare's cancer alliance advances One year after Hartford Healthcare and New York City's Memorial Sloan Kettering announced a new partnership to study cancer treatments and outcomes in Con- necticut, the pair said the effort is moving forward. Hartford Healthcare and its five acute hospitals — known as the Hartford Health- care Cancer Institute — are officially certified as a charter member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance. Cancer experts and specialists from the two institutions have spent the past year reviewing process and clinical standards across a number of specialties at Hartford Healthcare to ensure they meet MSK's standards, the providers said. MSK is billing the alliance as a new approach to speeding advances in cancer care into hospitals across the country. Hartford Healthcare said it will benefit by col- laborating with MSK on treatments, research and clinical trials. Hartford Healthcare said its membership in the alliance will benefit Connecticut res- idents by allowing collaboration with MSK on treatments, research and clinical trials. Angelo DeFazio, owner of Arrow Alternative Care in Hartford, wants his company to offer the lowest priced medical marijuana. P H O T O | H b J F i l e Vincent Capece, CEO of Middlesex Hospital, part of the Value Care Alliance. P H O T O | H b J F i l e

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