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6 Hartford Business Journal • September 19, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY ConnectiCare won't leave exchange in 2017 Following uncertainty over whether ConnectiCare would pull out of the state's health insurance exchange, the Farmington insurer said last week that it in- tended to keep its plans on Access Health CT in 2017. The insurer issued a statement saying that it would accept the rates approved by the Connecticut Insurance Department (CID), which were lower than what the company had requested, and would withdraw a lawsuit it filed Sept. 9 ap- pealing the rate decision as well as an expedited administrative appeal it had filed with CID. Access Health originally announced that ConnectiCare had informed them Sept. 9 that the health insurer would pull out of the exchange, but there was uncertainty after ConnectiCare CEO Michael Wise released a statement soon after saying his company was working on a potential solution with the exchange. ConnectiCare had asked the CID to approve an average 27.1 percent rate increase, but the regulator lowered that to a 17.4 percent rate increase, which the insurer ultimately accepted. HEALTH CARE CT's uninsured rate among nation's lowest Connecticut's uninsured rate was 6 percent last year, well below the national average of 9.1 percent and tied for ninth-lowest in the U.S., according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data. Connecticut's uninsured rate dropped about 1 percentage point from a year earlier, putting it among five states with the smallest change due to the state's already high number of insured, Census Data shows. In 2013, Connecticut's uninsured rate was 9 percent. Massachusetts led the country with 2.8 percent of people uninsured. On the other end of the spectrum, Texas led with the highest rate of uninsured, at 17.1 percent. Employers push healthcare costs onto workers There's no question healthcare costs take a big chunk out of workers' paychecks. But try to take solace in the fact that premiums are rising at modest levels, at least compared to a few years ago. That's the finding of the 2016 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits survey, released last week. The annual report offers a look at how much people are shelling out for coverage and care under work-based plans. The average family plan cost $18,142 this year, up 3.4 percent from 2015, the study found. That's faster than both wages (up 2.5 percent) and inflation (up 1.1 percent). Workers may grumble, but their payments only cover an average of 30 per- cent of the bill, or $5,277. Employers picked up $12,865. Employees are paying a whole lot more for health insurance than they did a decade ago. The average family plan cost $11,480 in 2006, of which workers had to pay $2,973. NY nonprofit health system agrees to buy Sharon Hospital Sharon Hospital, the only for-profit hospital in Connecticut, is aiming to return to nonprofit status by joining a New York-based health system, the hospital an- nounced Thursday. LaGrangeville, N.Y.-based Health Quest has an agreement to acquire the 78-bed Sharon Hospital for an undisclosed sum, the hospital said. Health Quest is a family of nonprofit hospitals and healthcare professionals serv- ing the mid-Hudson Valley of New York. Sharon Hospital transitioned to for-profit status in 2002 and is part of Essent Healthcare of Connecticut, which is an affiliate of RCCH HealthCare Partners. The transaction is expected to be finalized in mid-2017, pending regulatory approvals. BANKING & FINANCE Windor's SS&C Technologies acquiring Wells Fargo unit Windsor-based SS&C Technologies Holding Inc. is acquiring Wells Fargo Global Fund Services (GFS), the company announced last week. SS&C Technologies provides financial software services while GFS provides administration, middle-office, operations and cash/collateral management ser- vices to alternative investment managers. Financial terms were not disclosed. GFS administers more than $42 billion in alternative assets and has offices in Hong Kong, London, New York, Minneapolis and Singapore. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS Municipalities want alternatives to property tax, exemption limits Connecticut's over-reliance on the property tax is "unsustainable," a situation that can be fixed by limiting property-tax exemptions and providing local gov- ernments alternative tax options, among other steps, according to a new report from The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. Levied at $9.7 billion in 2014, the property tax is the "single largest tax" on resi- dents and businesses in Connecticut, CCM states in its September candidate bulletin. The dependency on this revenue is widespread, the report adds, since 71 per- cent of municipal revenue comes from property taxes. Eleven towns depend on property taxes for at least 90 percent of all their revenue. Another 55 municipali- ties rely on property taxes for at least 80 percent of their revenue, the report finds. The organization recommends four steps to address the problem, including adequately funding public education obligations, limiting property-tax exemp- tions, allowing cities and towns to collect local taxes, maintaining non-educa- tion funding and committing to revenue sharing. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION Sears lists state properties for development Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Sears and Kmart stores, has included its Sears locations in Enfield and Manchester and its Vernon Kmart store on a list of properties being offered to developers. The online list includes every Connecticut Sears and Kmart location, under the heading "operating store and closed store opportunities." But that doesn't mean that the Illinois-based company has decided to leave the Connecticut market, Sears Holdings spokesman Howard Riefs said recently. "An open store being listed … is not an indication that there are plans to close the store itself," Riefs said in an email. – Howard French | Journal Inquirer ENERGY Study: Hartford metro ranks 16th in solar The Hartford metropolitan region ranks 16th in the country for its number of permitted solar systems per capita as of 2015, according to an analysis by contractor-referral website BuildZoom. The metro area — which includes 54 communities in Hartford, Tolland and Middlesex counties — had 3.93 solar systems permitted per 1,000 residents at the end of 2015, up from 1.53 in 2014, according to BuildZoom's data. The top area for solar permitting last year was the Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario region in California, which had 16.66 per thousand. Spring wholesale power prices down 38% Spring wholesale power prices in New England fell 38 percent this year, thanks mainly to lower natural gas prices, according to grid operator ISO New England. The total wholesale cost of electricity from March 1 to May 31 was $1.02 billion, down from $1.64 billion in the year-ago period, according to ISO NE's recently released quarterly markets report. Meanwhile, average real-time price was $22.10 per megawatt hour, down 40 percent over the year. The price of natural gas — upon which New England's generation market is heavily reliant — averaged $2.29 per million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) during the period. That was 45 percent lower than last spring, the report said. BY THE NUMBERS $9.7B The amount of revenue raised by Connecticut cities and towns from property taxes in 2014. $18,142 The average cost for a family health insurance plan in the U.S., which is up 3.4 percent from 2015, according to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust. 6% The percentage of Connecticut residents who don't have health insurance, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which is one of the lowest uninsured rates in the country. $6M The value of a three-year tax break the town of Manchester has granted to Prospect Medical Holdings, the for-profit hospital operator that is buying Eastern Connecticut Healthcare Network. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ CRCOG: 19K homes could have crumbling foundations ■ Municipalities want alternatives to property tax, exemption limits ■ UConn, Yale, Eastern tops in annual college rankings report ■ ECHN CEO on leave after DUI arrest ■ SEC alleges Simsbury firm defrauded investors 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 | H B J F I L E ConnectiCare CEO Michael Wise will keep his company on Access Health CT.