Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • September 12, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY ConnectiCare sues state over rate denial; threatens to leave exchange Farmington health insurer ConnectiCare is suing the state Insurance De- partment over the denial of its proposed rate increases for 2017 health plans, without which the insurer says it cannot afford to participate in the state insurance exchange. In its lawsuit filed in New Britain Superior Court, ConnectiCare Benefits Inc. said Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade did not fully consider its revised 27.1 percent rate increase for its individual health plans to be sold on the the state insurance exchange, Access Health CT. On Sept. 2, the Insurance Department reduced the proposed rate increase to 17.4 percent fol- lowing an actuarial review. In its complaint, ConnectiCare said it needed to revise rates higher in part because HealthyCT and United Healthcare would no longer be offer- ing products on the Connecticut exchange. Oth- er reasons include the "likely deterioration" of the risk pool as healthy people leave the market to avoid rate hikes; and analysis that showed higher-than-expected claims paid out in the first half of 2016. ConnectiCare said its proposed rate is "ad- equate" and "not excessive," and that Wade's lower rate is inadequate because the commissioner "refused to consider the totality of the evidence submitted." The Insurance Department declined comment because the litigation is pending, "other than to say it stands by the process by which the Connec- tiCare rate application was reviewed and the decision that was reached," a spokesperson said in a statement. BY THE NUMBERS 3,203 The number of single-family homes sold in Connecticut during the month of July, which was down 15.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Warren Group. 20% The increase in private-sector jobs in low-wage industries in Connecticut since 2001, according to Connecticut Voices for Children. 40,000 The approximate number of students in the U.S. who were taking classes on campus or online at ITT Education Services, before the for-profit college announced last week it was shutting down. 38% The percent of U.S. physicians employed by hospitals and health systems as of mid-2015, according to a new study prepared by Avalere Health. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ ConnectiCare sues state over rate denial; threatens to leave exchange ■ Cigna Medicare Advantage suspension not lifted for 2017 enrollment ■ State rejects insurance rate filings, but 2017 health costs still higher ■ For-profit college ITT shuts down ■ CT marks sudden, steep drop in July home sales 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 P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D HEALTH CARE Malloy extends hospital merger moratorium Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has extended the moratorium on Connecticut hospital mergers, as a taskforce empaneled to review the M&A landscape needs more time to complete its recommendations. Under an executive order Malloy signed Sept. 8, the Certificate of Need Task- force will now be responsible for submitting its final recommendations no later than Jan. 15, 2017. Previously, the group had been required to submit the report by Dec. 1, 2016. In addition, the updated executive order extends the moratorium on certifi- cate-of-need applications by the state from Jan. 15, 2017 until June 30, 2017, so enough time is provided for a fair and thorough evaluation of the certificate- of-need process, and gives the Department of Public Health (DPH) more flex- ibility with respect to determinations on pending applications, Malloy said. Any Connecticut hospital merger must submit for approval a certificate-of- need application to the Office of Health Care Access, which is part of DPH. Cigna Medicare Advantage suspension not lifted for 2017 enrollment Bloomfield-based Cigna anticipates not enrolling new participants in its Medicare Advantage prescription and health plans for 2017 because the federal suspension of that business remains unresolved, the company said last week. In January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) suspended Cigna from marketing Medicare Advantage plans and enrolling new customers be- cause of a long-standing history of noncompliance with federal requirements. The suspension did not affect existing Medicare Advantage customers' plans or benefits. Enrollment for 2017 Medicare Advantage prescription and Part D health plans was scheduled to occur between October and Dec. 7, the company said. Cigna is actively working with CMS to address audit findings and have the sanctions lifted "as quickly as possible," the company said. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Hartford Radisson Hotel linked to E. Hartford casino proposal The developer of a proposed $200 million East Hartford casino is looking to add the Radisson Hotel Hartford to his plans. Developer Anthony J. Ravosa Jr., a member of Silver Lane Partners LLC, which has proposed the East Hartford casino at the former Showcase Cine- mas site, said his firm has exclusive rights to broker a deal between the owners of the Hartford Radisson Hotel on Morgan Street and MMCT, the Mohegan- Mashantucket Pequot joint venture authorized to seek a site for Connecticut's third casino, to add a "non-gaming" hotel to their casino proposal. The legislature still has to weigh in on approval of a third casino in the state. Ravosa said the hotel would be flagged with signage and lighting along the Hart- ford skyline as an "iconic, electrifying and striking Times Square-style landmark." The property, already in the midst of renovations, could also be linked with shuttles to a third casino, and sits at the junction of I-91 and I-84, Ravosa said. Hotel property owner 50 Morgan Hospitality Group/Inner Circle is currently converting the hotel's top eight floors into approximately 100 apartments, while downsizing the configuration of the hotel to about 150 rooms, but it is early enough to modify those $6.5 million plans if necessary to fit in with the envi- sioned casino connection, Ravosa said. Central CT apartments sold in $90M deal A six-property, 741-unit multifamily apartment portfolio spread across cen- tral Connecticut has been sold for $90 million, according to the deal's broker New Haven-based Marcus & Millichap. The commercial real estate specialist said the sales price equates to $121,457 per unit. Its Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) division completed the sale. The properties are located in central Connecticut's Farmington Valley, and in Hartford and Tolland counties. The properties are Summit and Birch Hill Apartments, 13 buildings, 186 units, in Farmington; Fox Hill Apartments, 23 buildings, 168 units, in Enfield; Briar Knoll Apartments, 15 buildings, 150 units, in Vernon; High Meadow Apartments, six buildings, 100 units, in Ellington; Bradford Commons, eight buildings, 64 units, and Woodbridge Apartments, six buildings, 73 units, both in Newington. ECONOMY & LABOR Group calls for CT min.-wage hike to reverse earnings decline The health of Connecticut's economy is under siege because of an uptick in low-wage jobs and other factors dragging on workers' well-being, according to a report from the liberal Connecticut Voices for Children. The report's key findings include that the state has seen a 20 percent in- crease since 2001 in the share of private-sector jobs in low-wage industries, with the median and bottom 10 percent of wage-earners since 2002 experienc- ing a 2-percent or more decline in wages. Meantime, unemployment for minorities and workers without a college edu- cation also is persistently high. The report recommends policy initiatives to offset these challenges that in- clude restoring the earned income tax credit for low-income workers to its origi- nal 2011 levels and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. EDUCATION Hartford loses its school superintendent After two years leading Hartford public schools, Superintendent Beth Schiavi- no-Narvaez is leaving the district to work for the U.S. Department of Defense in the Far East, the school board chairman confirmed last week. Board Chairman Richard F. Wareing said Schiavino-Narvaez has laid the foundation for future growth in the school district by helping reduce chronic ab- senteeism and out-of-school suspensions. The number of troubled "turnaround" schools in Hartford also has dropped under her tenure, he said. "Some schools came off [of the list] this year, which is an indicator we're making progress," Wareing said. Wareing said he will meet with the board soon to determine what type of search to conduct for Schiavino-Narvaez's replacement. ConnectiCare President Michael Wise.

• Cover