Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • July 11, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com HEALTH CARE Hospitals receive held-back payments Hospitals across the state have received approximately $150 million in pay- ments the state held back in March, the Office of Policy and Management said. The so-called supplemental payments represent the portion of the provider tax the state returns to its acute-care hospitals. OPM Secretary Benjamin Barnes, who is Gov. Dannel Malloy's budget direc- tor, said in March that he was holding back the funds because of the state's worsening fiscal picture. At the time, he said he wasn't optimistic about paying out any further fiscal year 2016 supplemental payments. But the budget passed by legislators in May provided a new line item spe- cifically for supplemental payments, which reduces the amount by which the administration can cut those funds, according to the Connecticut Mirror. ECONOMY & LABOR New data shows CT losing workers to other states Connecticut lost more workers to other states in 2014, including nearby lo- cales like Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, than it gained, ac- cording to new data from the state Department of Labor that tracks the inward and outward migration of jobs. Called job-to-job flows data, the information tracks movement and will help labor department officials understand job changes in Connecticut and where workers are coming from and going to for jobs. In 2014, more people left Connecticut for jobs in Massachusetts, Florida, Cali- fornia, North Carolina and Texas then came to Connecticut from jobs in those states. However, more people came to Connecticut from New Jersey and New York than left here for employment in those states. Overall, 38,797 people came to Connecticut for work versus 39,854 who left the state for a job, meaning the state lost 1,057 workers in 2014. CT networking groups merge Three Connecticut business-to-business networking groups from the shoreline and Hartford areas have merged into one organization. The Connecticut Business Connection (CTBC) said that the Capital Region Business Exchange (CRBE) and B2B Courant Network have become part of the CTBC. They join "Our Breakfast Club" in New Haven and The South Windsor Chamber of Commerce as CTBC partners, adding monthly events in West Hartford and Hartford to the organiza - tion's lineup. Survey finds CT small businesses hiring, expanding Sixty percent of Connecticut businesses with 500 or fewer employees re- ported that they're hiring in 2016, according to a survey released last week. The Connecticut Business & Industry Association's 2016 Survey of Small Businesses also found that about half of respondents expect to remain stable, 38 percent anticipate growth, and 13 percent expect to contract. It was the first time the survey was conducted. Of those who are hiring, 59 percent are adding fewer than four new workers; 27 percent are bringing on four to 10 new employees; 8 percent are hiring 11 to 20; and 6 percent will add more than 20 employees. The top three challenges noted by respondents were: profitability and growth (31 percent); government regulations, mandates and other policy decisions (21 percent); and the cost of doing business/taxes (20 percent). ENERGY & UTILITIES Consumer counsel opposes UI rate hike request The Office of Consumer Counsel plans to oppose the $100 million distribution rates increase recently proposed by United Illuminating Co. over the next three years. United Illuminating filed an application with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to raise its distribution rates effective Jan. 1, 2017, as well as incremental increases annually on Jan. 1, 2018 and 2019. According to the consumer counsel's office, United Illuminating is requesting annual rate increases of $65.6 million in rate year 2017, an incremental $21.1 million in 2018, and an additional $13.4 million in 2019. This represents an increase in distribution rates of nearly 30 percent over the three-year period. EDUCATION New president named at SCSU The Board of Regents for Higher Education unanimously voted to select Joe Berto- lino as the 12th president of Southern Connecticut State University. A Board of Regents search committee recommended Bertolino among three finalists after a five-month long nationwide search. Bertolino is currently the president of Lyndon State College in Vermont and special assistant to the Chancellor for System Integration and Related Efforts at the Vermont State Colleges. He replaces Dr. Mary Papazian who resigned July 1. He will begin Aug. 22, 2016, at an annual salary of $294,700. According to his official bio, Bertolini was in his fourth year as president of Lyndon State College. Prior to his arrival there, Bertolino served as vice president for enroll - ment management and student affairs and associate professor of student personnel at Queens College/City University of New York from 2004-2012. BANKING & FINANCE SI Financial added to Russell Indices SI Financial Group Inc., the holding company for Savings Institute Bank & Trust, has been added to the Russell 3000 index and Russell 2000 Index. The Willimantic-based bank said inclusion in the index will raise its profile for greater interest in its stock among institutional investors. In the U.S. marketplace, approximately 98 percent of the U.S. equity assets are benchmarked by the Russell 3000, representing more than $4 trillion. BY THE NUMBERS $150.2M The amount of supplemental payments for hospitals, postponed by the state in March, that were paid out June 20, according to the Office of Policy and Management. $13.4M A required payment levied against nonprofit health insurer HealthyCT by the federal government, which led state regulators last week to forbid HealthyCT from writing new business. 40,000 The number of policyholders HealthyCT has in the state. $12M The amount of sales derived during the state's first two weeks offering the lottery game Keno. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Financially struggling HealthyCT to run off business ■ Hospitals receive held-back payments ■ FFFC moves corporate office to Hartford ■ MDC awards $279.4M tunnel project ■ New data shows CT losing workers to other states 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 TOP STORY Financially ailing HealthyCT to runoff existing business The future of HealthyCT, the nonprofit health insurance company created as a result of the Affordable Care Act, appears dire after the Connecticut Insurance Department (CID) prohibited the company from writing any new business, citing its "hazardous financial standing." CID Commissioner Katharine Wade said in a statement that a federally required risk-adjustment payment of $13.4 million, ordered on June 30, has jeopardized HealthyCT's financial position. She said CID placed HealthyCT under an order of supervision to ensure that the company could cover any claims filed by its existing 40,000 Connecticut policyholders. "This order of supervision provides for an orderly run-off of the com- pany's claim payment under close regulatory oversight," Wade said. CID's order said HealthyCT could have the supervisory order lifted if it can attain sufficient liquidity, surplus and reserves, as determined by the commissioner. But it's unclear how the insurer could do that if it's unable to write new business. CID said its unknown whether HealthyCT could return to normal operations. "Given what we do know as of July 2016, however, it is recommended that group and individual insureds, medical providers and others not count on a near-term change in circumstances, which would justify an abatement of the order," CID said. HealthyCT CEO Ken Lalime said in a written statement: "We have been exceptionally proud of our efforts here at HealthyCT and our staff has worked tremendously hard to serve our policyholders." HealthyCT was a so-called Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan, or "CO-OP" — a type of nonprofit insurance plan created under the ACA. Ken Lalime is HealthyCT's chief executive officer. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

• Cover