Hartford Business Journal

26 Hartford Business Journal • December 22, 2014 www.HartfordBusiness.com Industry Focus E c o n o m i c F o r E c a s t Health Care YEar in rEviEW July 23 tenet reconsiders Ct hospital deals After warning state regulators in mid-December that conditions placed on its acquisition of Waterbury Hospital could scuttle the deal, Tenet Healthcare pulled the plug on its plans to purchase five Connecticut hospitals. Tenet notified the Office of Health Care Access and the attorney gen- eral Dec. 11 that it would not continue its pursuit of buying Waterbury, St. Mary's, Bristol, Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals, and convert them from nonprofit to for- profit operators. "We respect the role the state regulators have in providing guidance and over- sight to the healthcare industry, and understand the responsibility they take in dis- charging their duties. Nonetheless, the extensive list of proposed conditions to be imposed on the Waterbury Hospital transaction..has led us to conclude that the ap- proach to regulatory oversight in Connecticut would not enable Tenet to operate the hospitals successfully for the benefit of all stakeholders," Tenet said in a statement. Tenet's decision to withdraw from its Connecticut deals will have widespread impact on Connecticut's healthcare industry. It also creates a huge political problem for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the state legislature. All Connecticut hospitals that were vying for a Tenet acquisition are in need of capital injections to remain economically viable long-term. If Tenet doesn't come back to the negotiating table, the hospitals will need to find other partners, or ask the state legislature for significant funding increases. April 7 Hartford Healthcare eyes $110M expansion Hartford Healthcare is preparing a major five-year capital spending plan head- lined by a new $110 million bone and joint institute that will reshape Hartford Hos- pital's Seymour Street campus. The capital investments, which could reach $1.2 billion, also will fund a health information technology makeover and significant expansion of Hartford Healthcare's ambulatory care network, hospital executives say. The project pipeline represents Hartford Healthcare's most ambitious capital plan ever, as the state's second largest health system restructures and expands to meet a new era in health care. The investments, however, also come at a time when hospitals are facing significant financial headwinds, leaving little room for bad bets. April 21 Almost half of region's hospitals post red ink in FY '13 The state's chief hospital lobby announced that the industry shed 1,400 jobs and saw their collective operating income fall by $175 million in fiscal 2013 thanks to Medicare and state funding cuts as well as a new provider tax. In Greater Hartford, nearly half of the region's hospitals posted operating defi- cits in fiscal 2013, led by a $10.5 million operating loss by Connecticut Children's Medical Center. In fiscal 2012, Connecticut Children's operating loss was far lower: $688,420. Windham Hospital, which operates under the Hartford Healthcare banner, had the second largest operating deficit in the region at $8.8 million, followed by Hart- ford, UConn's John Dempsey, and Johnson Memorial hospitals, which saw operating losses of $4.9 million, $4 million, and $3.2 million, respectively. Hartford Hospital's $4.9 million loss represented the largest performance swing; a year earlier it had an operating surplus of $52 million. Across the state, Connecticut's 29 acute care hospitals had a combined 3.28 percent operating margin, down from 4.81 percent a year earlier. AuGuST 4 Supermarkets next in-store offering: medical care Big-box chain stores have offered flu shots and treated runny noses for years, but one Connecticut grocer is upping its retail game as St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center opens new FastCare clinics in two local Stop & Shop Supermarkets. St. Francis opened FastCare centers in Simsbury and Manchester, representing the first central Connecticut primary care clinics located within a supermarket. The FastCare clinics stem from an agreement between Bellin Health and Ahold USA Inc., parent company of Stop & Shop, to operate quick-access medical centers at its grocery stores. Bellin Health, a not-for-profit, developed the FastCare brand in 2006. The organi- zation partners with health systems like St. Francis and retailers nationwide to offer community medical services. Currently, there are 30 FastCare locations operating in 10 states with 20 health system partners. November 18 St. Francis, Smilow exploring cancer partnership St. Francis Care and Yale-New Haven's Smilow Cancer Hospital said they've signed a letter of intent to explore an oncology partnership to serve the Greater Hartford market. Potential terms were not disclosed, but the two said any eventual deal would include St. Francis being a part of Smilow clinical trials and disease management programs. JuNe 2 Anthem takes 53% of health exchange market share Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield won the initial market share battle for newly insured residents through the state's health insurance exchange. Of the 80,018 individuals and small businesses who signed up for private health insurance through Access Health CT, 53 percent chose Anthem as their insurance carrier, according to recent stats released by the state. Farmington insurer Connecticare had the second largest market share of 44 per- cent, while Wallingford nonprofit insurer HealthyCT grabbed 3 percent of the market. Access Health CT is the online insurance marketplace created as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Its inaugural enrollment period ended March 31, but new customers were signed up through May. Overall, Access Health signed up 229,031 people for coverage, but the majority of them (149,013) qualified for Medicaid. The remaining 80,018 customers purchased private health plans. tenet Healthcare Corp. has abandoned its $150 million acquisition of St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury. Hartford Healthcare is planning to build a $110 million Bone & Joint institute on its Seymour Street campus. the rendering above shows the facility as a five-story, 130,000-square-foot medical office building that will house 10 operating rooms and 50 inpatient beds. R e N d e R i N g | C O N T R i b u T e d P H O T O | H b J F i l e

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