Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • August 22, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY Aetna told DOJ it would drop Obamacare if Humana merger is blocked Aetna said last week that it was curtailing its presence on the Obamacare exchanges to stem mounting financial losses. Last month, the company told the Department of Justice that it would probably be forced to withdraw from Obamacare altogether if the agency blocks its pending merger with Humana over anti- trust concerns. "[W]e believe it is very likely that we would need to leave the public exchange business entirely and plan for additional business efficien- cies should our deal ultimately be blocked," Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini wrote in a July 5 letter. The letter was obtained by the Huffington Post following a Free- dom of Information Act request. Aetna's announcement that it would withdraw from 11 of 15 states next year amid $430 million in losses heightened concerns about Obamacare's financial viability. UnitedHealthcare and Humana are also minimizing their presence on the exchanges after recording big losses. But the pullbacks also come as two pairs of major insurers are planning to merge. Anthem has offered $54 billion to acquire Cigna, while Aetna would pay $37 billion to take over Humana. — CNNMoney LEGAL & COURTS Centerplan lawsuit against city in mediation Centerplan Construction Co. and the city of Hartford are engaged in mediation in New Britain Superior Court over the lawsuit filed by the developer of the Yard Goats minor-league ballpark against the city. Judge George Levine referred the case to mediation in recent weeks and is overseeing that process, Court Officer Stephen Goldschmidt confirmed to HBJ. The lawsuit was originally filed in Hartford Superior Court. Mediation is a pro- cess that could lead to a settlement of the case. Both parties met in court Aug. 12, and the next meeting before Judge Levine is scheduled for Aug. 25. In mid-July, Centerplan and its subsidiary DoNo Hartford LLC, sued the city in an attempt to get back to work on Dunkin' Donuts Park, the home to the Double- A Yard Goats baseball team. The Middletown developer said in its complaint that the city had failed to take contract disputes to mediation and/or arbitration as outlined in the initial contract when it fired the developer in mid-June. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS DDS proposes 605 job cuts as it seeks to privatize services for disabled Connecticut's Department of Developmental Services is seeking to cut 605 positions from its budget as it privatizes services, according to a letter from the commissioner to the state Office of Policy & Management. In the memorandum dated Aug. 16, DDS Commissioner Morna A. Murray outlines a transition in the workforce aimed at total savings for the department of $48.6 million in fiscal 2017 and $69.3 million in fiscal 2018. The total 605 positions include 113 cuts that have already been made, according to a chart accompanying the memorandum. The restructuring includes privatization of dozens of state-run group homes and other services for the intellectually disabled. TECHNOLOGY Uber launches new food-delivery app in CT UberEATS, the division of the online transportation service Uber that allows food delivery requests via an app and website, debuted in New Haven last week. More than 40 of the city's restaurants are participating, the company said. It's unclear when or if the delivery service will be extended into Hartford, but the service will be expanding in coming months throughout Connecticut, said Casey Verkamp, general manager for UberEATS Connecticut. When Uber launched its regular car service in Connecticut, it started in Fair- field County and slowly moved into the Greater Hartford market. HEALTH CARE Hebrew HealthCare files Chapter 11 Hebrew HealthCare has filed for bankruptcy reorganization and assigned op- eration of its 257-bed West Hartford nursing home to a third party. National Health Care Associates (NHCA), the New Jersey parent of Hebrew Home for Health and Rehabilitation LLC, will operate the home at 1 Abrahms Blvd., under a 30-year lease, West Hartford-based Hebrew HealthCare said last week. The Chapter 11 filing widens Hebrew HealthCare's options in dealing with creditors. Hebrew HealthCare officials said both steps were necessary to pre- serve its operations and customer service while working out a plan to repay its debts as part of a long-term restructuring. CEO Bonnie Gauthier indicated that reduction in state and federal care reim- bursements and other regulatory issues and competitive pressures contributed to Hebrew Healthcare's financial dilemma. Mold, fungus forced cancer center shutdowns in Enfield Persistent mold and fungus in a Johnson Memorial Hospital cancer infusion center in Enfield led state authorities to close the facility to patients for months as well as its onsite pharmacy compounding area for more than a year. Chemotherapy infusion treatments have since resumed at the 142 Hazard Ave. building that is now owned by St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center's parent company, Trinity Health. But mixing the toxic drug cocktails that are administered to cancer patients intravenously continues to be done off-site at Johnson Memorial Hospital's compounding pharmacy in Stafford, officials say. The complete facility closure was done "out of an abundance of caution," and infusion services for cancer patients were temporarily provided at Johnson Memorial Hospital after the contaminants were found in the Enfield center's compounding room, St. Francis spokeswoman Fiona Phelan said. — Kym Soper | Journal Inquirer BANKING & FINANCE UConn, CI, Webster Bank create early-stage UConn startup fund UConn, Connecticut Innovations (CI) and Webster Bank are setting up a $1.5-mil- lion UConn Innovation Fund to support early-stage startups affiliated with UConn. Investments of up to $100,000 are available to any student, faculty member or alumnus of the university with an in-state business startup tied to research, advanced technologies or innovations developed at UConn. Companies participating in UConn's Technology Incubation Program are eligible. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION Hartford's Hog River tap room readies Hog River Brewing Co. will publicly debut its Hartford tap room in the city's Parkville neighborhood Aug. 20, its founder-owner says. Benjamin Braddock, who shed his corporate-insurance career and spent the past 13 years toiling as a hobbyist brewer and later as a brewmaster, says his approximately 4,000-square-foot brewery-tap room at 1429 Park St., in the former Barridon Building, will serve a variety of inhouse-brewed beers and ales. The establishment seats 75, but with standing room, has capacity for up 200 patrons, Braddock said. Hog River won't serve food, but guests are invited to purchase food from neighboring restaurants and/or food trucks to dine on in the tap room, he said. Including Braddock and wife Joy, Hog River Brewing employs five. BY THE NUMBERS $430M The total pre-tax losses Hartford- based Aetna said it has absordebd since Jan. 2014 selling products on state-based insurance exchanges. 1,230 The number of Hartford area single- family homes sold during the month of July, down 5.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors. 5.7% Connecticut's unemployment rate at the end of July, which was down slightly from June's 5.8 percent jobless rate, according to the state Department of Labor. 605 The number of jobs the state Department of Developmental Services is proposing to cut as it seeks to save money by privatizing more of its services. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Centerplan lawsuit against city in mediation ■ Hebrew HealthCare files Chapter 11 ■ CT Southern Rail parent to acquire P&W Railroad ■ DDS proposes 605 job cuts as it seeks to privatize services for disabled ■ Hartford's Hog River tap room on tap with Saturday opening 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 Aetna's Farmington Avenue headquarters in Hartford. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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