Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • September 28, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY GOP, hospitals call for reversal of Medicaid cuts Connecticut Republican leaders and hospital executives last week called on the legislature to reverse Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's $63.8 million rescission to the state's Medicaid program. The Connecticut Hospital Association said the cuts would mean job losses at hospitals. Though the Medicaid cut is less than $64 million, the total hit to hospi- tals would be $192 million due to the loss of federal matching funds, according to the Office of Fiscal Analysis. Hartford Healthcare said it stands to lose $41 million from the cuts, which it said came suddenly and without consultation between the governor and the health system. "The sudden and unexpected nature of this latest cut speaks to the ab- solutely reckless fiscal policy of Connecticut — a state that chooses to treat hospitals as drains rather than drivers of our state's still struggling econo- my," Hartford Healthcare said in a statement. Meanwhile, state Democrats said they will look to mitigate the impact of the cuts next session. In the meantime, Democrats and AFT Connecticut, a union representing healthcare workers, are calling on hospitals to trim CEO pay to help blunt impacts to patient services. "As we engage in this process, I would urge extraordinarily well-compen- sated hospital CEOs and other top executives to look for cost-saving mea- sures that do not affect critical patient services or levels of employment," Senate President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said in a statement. Looney also said he was disappointed by the cuts and hoped Malloy would reconsider. GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW Segarra ending reelection bid Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra last week ended his reelection campaign, after losing the Democratic primary to Luke Bronin. Segarra and Bronin appeared together at a press conference next to City Hall, where Segarra endorsed the fellow Democrat and attorney, who was recently Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's general counsel. "The voters have spoken, and although the result was not the one I was hoping for and the one I worked so hard for, for the good of the city and to bring unity to the city I am announcing that I am ending my campaign," Segarra said. "I ask we all come together and support my colleague Luke Bronin for mayor." Malloy, who publicly stayed out of the primary battle, endorsed Bronin after his Sept. 16 win. Segarra had initially pledged to fight on if he lost the primary. But he said last week that he wanted to ensure a smooth transition for the next mayor and wished to use his remaining months in office to work on ongoing projects. He said his decision "comes from a point of respect and love for the city." Bronin beat Segarra in the primary by a 54-46 margin. HEALTH CARE Survey: Worker deductibles rise 3 times faster than premiums Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums rose an average of 4 per- cent this year, continuing a decade-long period of moderate growth, according to a survey released last week. But while premium growth has been modest, workers' cost of deductibles has risen sharply since 2010, up 67 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation/ Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) 2015 Employer Health Benefits Survey. Over the same period, workers' wages rose 10 percent and inflation rose 9 percent, the survey said. The average annual premium for single-person coverage is $6,251, of which workers on average pay $1,071. The average family premium is $17,545, with workers on average contributing $4,955, the survey said. The survey also found that 81 percent of covered workers are in plans with a general annual deductible, which average $1,318 for single coverage this year. Covered workers in smaller firms (three to 199 workers) face an average deduct- ible of $1,836 this year. That's 66 percent more than the $1,105 average deduct- ible facing covered workers at large firms (at least 200 workers), the survey said. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT New Britain finalizes lease with Atlantic League New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart agreed last week to lease terms that would bring an Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs team to New Britain Stadium for up to 15 years, her chief of staff John Healy said. The Atlantic League granted conditional approval to New Britain earlier this month to join the league. Under the lease agreement, which was approved by the city's Common Coun- cil, an Atlantic League team would pay New Britain $2.4 million in rent over 15 years, Healy said. Differing from New Britain's arrangement with the Rock Cats — who will start their 2016 season at Hartford's new Downtown North stadium as the Yard Goats — New Britain would cede stadium parking operations to the Atlantic League team, which would also be allowed to shop naming rights. Under the new deal, New Britain would receive 10 percent of net parking revenue and 10 percent of gross naming-rights revenue. ECONOMY & LABOR Report: CT has fewer women-owned firms than average Women own 4.8 percent of Connecticut's middle-market firms, which is less than the 6 percent national average, according to American Express and Dun & Bradstreet. Last week, the two companies issued their third annual analysis of middle-market firms, defined as companies with revenue between $10 million and $999 million. Connecticut has 1,953 such firms, the report said, and women own 94 of them, according to the report. Meanwhile, 2 percent, or 48 of those Connecticut companies have multicul- tural owners. That's below the national average of 5 percent. Greater Hartford's GDP grew in 2014 The Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area's gross domestic product grew 2.3 percent from 2013 to 2014, which matched the national average, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said. The metro area's GDP, which is a broad measure of the value of goods and ser- vices produced by industry located within it, grew from $83.62 billion in 2013 to $85.56 billion last year, BEA said. It marked the second consecutive year of growth for the area, which saw declines through much of the recent recession. Greater Hartford's growth was slower — 0.6 percent — when accounting for inflation. The metro's so-called "real GDP" totaled $78.86 billion last year, up from $78.37 billion, BEA said. Report: ESPN planning layoffs Bristol-based sports media giant ESPN is planning to cut between 200 and 300 jobs in the coming months, sports news website The Big Lead reported last week. The website cited the information from anonymous sources inside and outside the Disney-owned company. Earlier this month, the Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney has ordered ESPN to cut $100 million from its 2016 budget and $250 million from its 2017 budget. ESPN called those numbers factually incorrect. In a written statement ESPN said it "has historically embraced evolving technol - ogy to smartly navigate our business. Any organizational changes will be announced directly to our employees if and when appropriate." ENERGY & UTILITIES CT gas utilities below average in customer satisfaction The three main natural gas utilities in Connecticut all have below average residential customer satisfaction rates, according to California research firm J.D. Power & Associates. Connecticut Natural Gas, Southern Connecticut Gas and Yankee Gas all scored below the national average of 671 (out of 1,000) and the regional average of 639 for midsized utilities. NStar Gas, which is a subsidiary of Hartford utility parent Eversource Energy, also scored below average for its Massachusetts service area. J.D. Power scored all large and midsized natural gas utilities across the na- tion on billing and payment, price, corporate citizenship, communications, cus- tomer service and field service. The study looked at residential customers only, not commercial or industrial customers. CNG scored 635; NStar scored 633; Yankee scored 631; and SCG scored 628. CNG and SCG are subsidiaries of New Haven-based UIL Holdings. Yankee and NStar are subsidiaries of Eversource Energy. BY THE NUMBERS $500M The price tag of a resort casino slated for 2016 construction in Taunton, Mass., after the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe won a key approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. $192M The total funding cut to Connecticut hospitals due to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's $63.5 million rescission in state Medicaid funding, combined with the loss of corresponding federal matching funds. 4.4% The drop in Greater Hartford's median home price in August, to $257,900, according to the Connecticut Association of Realtors. 115,000 The number of times the state Department of Motor Vehicles' year-old mobile app has been downloaded. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Segarra ending reelection campaign, endorses Bronin ■ $2M for Hartford community- development fund ■ St. Mary's to join St. Francis in new regional system ■ LAZ draws NY equity investor ■ Cheshire chain in on Burger King promo Monday STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW Hartford Hospital's parent, Hartford Healthcare, will lose $41 million from recent state budget cuts. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

• Cover