Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • March 21, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY More CT hospitals lost money in FY2015 St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and The Hospital of Central Con- necticut were among at least seven Connecticut hospitals that lost money in fiscal 2015, new state data shows. St. Francis Hospital, which joined Michigan-based Trinity Health in 2015, posted a $17 million loss in fiscal 2015, compared to a $15.6 million surplus a year earlier. Merger costs likely impacted St. Francis' results, as the Hartford care provider eked out a $529,000 operating surplus during the year, which was still down from a $14.4 million operating surplus in fiscal 2014, according to financial data published by the state Office of Health Care Access. The Hospital of Central Connecticut posted a $4.2 million overall loss and $3 million operating loss in fiscal 2015, compared a $24.4 million surplus and $14.8 million operating surplus a year earlier. It's not exactly clear how Connecticut hospitals performed overall last year because three hospitals — Sharon, Day Kimball and Johnson Memorial — were all given time extensions to submit their audited financial state- ments, OHCA said. Of the 25 hospitals that did report their results, they recorded a combined $425.7 million operating surplus and $440.6 million overall surplus. At least seven hospitals lost money overall in fiscal 2015, up from five hospitals that lost money in fiscal 2014. GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW GOP leaders propose $220M deficit-reduction plan Republican legislative leaders, tired of being left on the outside looking in during budget negotiations, last week rolled out their own deficit-reduction plan. Repub- licans say their proposal would close the state's $220 million current year deficit. Republicans want to: Eliminate a $24.2 million diversion of funds to the mu- nicipal revenue sharing account as well as $17.8 million in new, unspent fund- ing for direct nursing home care; make a 50 percent reduction in charter-school funding equal to $12.9 million; and save $8 million from a two-day furlough of state employees that would need approval by employee unions. The proposed mitigation package would restore all $140 million in promised funding to hospitals, of which the state's share totals $31.6 million. Merrill seeks licensing of tax preparers A proposed bill seeking the licensing of tax preparers and facilitators has earned the backing of Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. She wants the li- censing done through her office. According to Merrill, in Connecticut, roughly 861,000 filers use tax prepara- tion services. Nationally, around half of all returns were filed by unregulated pre- parers. If the national statistic is mirrored locally, that means around 400,000 filers are using unlicensed tax preparers. She said every tax season, the Connecticut State Board of Accountancy re- ceives numerous complaints and calls from individuals who have suffered harm at the hands of unregulated commercial tax preparers. The legislation would create a Board of Tax Practitioners that would oversee registration, licensure, continuing education, renewal, disclosure and enforcement for non-creden- tialed commercial tax preparers. Malloy taps current deputy to run DMV The Department of Motor Vehicle's deputy commissioner has been promoted to the top role. A business exec has been tapped to be the new deputy. Michael R. Bzdyra, of Wallingford, who has served at the DMV since 2011 as deputy commissioner, will take over as commissioner. Previously, he worked for 13 years with the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority as a government relations liaison and senior analyst, responsible for directing, planning and imple- menting the organization's governmental, legislative and regulatory activities. Bzdyra said he will work on making the department, which went through a disastrous new computer system roll-out last summer, more customer focused. Bzdyra replaces the former commissioner Andres Ayala, who resigned because of the ongoing IT-system changeover snafu that sharply increased customer wait times — the upgrade's opposite intent. Judeen Wrinn of Middletown has been named deputy commissioner. She most recently worked for Voya Financial Inc. as the company's chief operations officer for retirement business, where she oversaw approximately 1,500 employees. HARTFORD Hartford general obligation bond ratings drop Rating agencies have lowered two of Hartford's major bond ratings over con- cerns about the Capital City's weak budget performance. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its rating on Hartford's general obligation (GO) bonds to "A+" from "AA-," and also lowered its rating on the Hartford Stadium Authority's lease revenue bonds to "A" from "A+." "The downgrade is due to the city's ongoing weak budgetary performance," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Hilary Sutton in a statement. The negative outlook reflects significant budget gaps in the city's long-term general fund projection. Both ratings could be lowered by multiple notches if the city fails to establish a credible plan to address these gaps, according to the rating agency. The Stag paying $170M for Ga. insurer Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. says it's paying $170 million cash for a Georgia specialty insurer. The Hartford announced last week its definitive agreement to purchase Northern Homelands Co., parent of Maxum Specialty Insurance Group. Maxum's business model is underwriting hard-to-place risks. The acquisition, subject to the usual regulatory approvals and satisfactory closing conditions, is set to finalize in the third quarter of this year. HEALTH CARE Report ranks CT health favorably in U.S. Connecticut generally scores better than the nation as a whole in the rate of premature deaths and percentage of people in poor or fair health, and in factors influencing health, according to a new report. Among Connecticut's eight counties, Tolland ranked first on length and qual- ity of life and Windham was No. 8 with Hartford at No. 7, according to the County Health Rankings produced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Measuring more than 30 factors that impact health, including social determinants such as education, jobs, housing, exercise, commuting times and more, Middlesex County ranked No. 1 and Windham No. 8. Hartford was No. 5. Among health factors, 18 percent of U.S. adults are smokers, 14 percent in Connecticut; 31 percent of adults are obese (with a body mass index of at least 30) nationally, 25 percent in the state; and 28 percent of adults nationally report no leisure time physical activity, 22 percent in Connecticut. Harvard Pilgrim books 2015 loss Health insurer Harvard Pilgrim, which entered the Connecticut market two years ago, said it lost nearly $55 million in 2015 on higher pharmacy costs and payments required under the Affordable Care Act. The Massachusetts insurer, which operates in four states, this month re- ported a fourth-quarter net loss of $39.7 million — its largest of 2015. In the fourth quarter of 2014, Harvard Pilgrim booked a profit of $6.5 million. For the full year, the insurer reported higher premium revenue, which grew from $2.55 billion to $2.73 billion. But it also experienced higher medical costs, which grew from $2.14 billion to $2.38 billion. The company said it was required to make so-called "risk-adjustment pay- ments" in three of its four states last year. The payments generally apply to insurers that have a less risky pool of customers. ENERGY & UTILITIES Northeast hydrogen, fuel cell industry had $1.4B in revenues The Northeast region hydrogen and fuel cell industry experienced significant growth over the last four years based on several factors such as employment, revenue and investment, labor income, and state and local tax revenue. In 2015, the hydrogen and fuel cell supply chain contributed nearly $1.4 bil- lion in revenue and investment, more than 6,550 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and labor income of approximately $620 million, according to a study by The Northeast Electrochemical Energy Storage Cluster, administered by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Inc. The study also reported that 2015 state and local tax revenues stemming from the Northeast region's hydrogen and fuel cell industry were in excess of $83 million. Currently, more than 600 Connecticut companies are part of the Northeast supply chain. BY THE NUMBERS $17M The overall fiscal 2015 financial loss posted by St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, which was the largest loss of any Connecticut hospital. 10% The size of the pay cut Republican state lawmakers are asking fellow legislators to take to help balance the state budget. 14,000 The number of employees at Hartford-based Laz Parking who had their social security numbers and other personal information stolen as a result of an Internet scam. $29,750 The average student loan debt in Connecticut for a student graduating from public and private nonprofit four-year colleges. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ More CT hospitals lost money in FY2015 ■ Kinder Morgan wins federal approval for CT pipeline ■ Bronin points towards seeking more from larger property owners ■ First delivery of large Pratt engine order ■ Governor taps current deputy to run DMV 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, CT Health Care Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center lost $17 million in fiscal 2017. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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