Hartford Business Journal

4 Hartford Business Journal • September 4, 2017 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Week in Review Briefs Wade extends deadline for insurer participation in health exchange Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade has extended the deadline for insurers to decide whether or not they want participate in Connecticut's healthcare insurance exchange next year. The deadline has been moved to Sept. 15 from Sept. 1. Wade said her department will make final rate determinations before Sept. 1, giving insurers about two weeks to make their decisions. The exchange, Access Health CT, plans to open enrollment on Nov. 1. The deadline extension "provides the carriers with the time they need to decide if they'll offer plans for 2018 and allows our organization to prepare the best way possible for the upcoming open enrollment period," said Access Health CEO Jim Wadleigh. The uncertainty in Washington, D.C., regarding funding for cost sharing reductions (CSRs), which provide financial assistance for consumers, contributed to Wade's decision to implement the extension, she said. Last month, Wade asked exchange carriers Anthem and ConnectiCare Benefits Inc. to submit a supplemental rate filing that contemplates no CSR payments in 2018. President Trump has threatened to eliminate CSR payments. StubHub's East Granby layoffs to begin Dec. 1 U.S. ticket reseller StubHub has informed the state it will officially start closing its East Granby office Dec. 1 with an initial round of layoffs before closing completely in 2018. The Connecticut Department of Labor posted the updated closing information last week. The ticket outlet said in May it would move 197 jobs in East Granby to Salt Lake City, Utah. StubHub says it has 540,000 Connecticut users who sell or buy tickets online. In an emailed statement, StubHub said its Center of Excellence for Customer Experience and Trust Operations will move to Salt Lake City when its lease expires in East Granby in 2018. "Last week, we informed employees that we plan to operationalize and fully staff the Salt Lake City office by Feb. 1, 2018," said StubHub Spokesperson Alison Salcedo. "To prepare, we will be offering some employees various options to continue with StubHub at our new [location], and for those who will not, we will offer career management and transitional services." Sanofi finishes purchase of Meriden's Protein Sciences Paris pharmaceutical company Sanofi said it has completed its acquisition of Meriden-based Protein Sciences. Under the terms of the agreement, first reached in July, Sanofi will make an upfront payment of $650 million and pay up to $100 million if certain milestones are met, according to Sanofi Spokesperson Laurence Bollack. Sanofi says it has met all conditions required by the Federal Trade Commission to close the deal. Through the acquisition, Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines global business unit of Sanofi, adds Protein Sciences' influenza vaccine Flublok to its portfolio, a unique eggless vaccine that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CT drug overdoses could outpace 2016 The Connecticut Office of the State Medical Examiner says the total number of accidental drug deaths in the state is on pace to be higher this year. There were 539 overdoses through the end of June. If that rate keeps pace, there could be 1,078 accidental deaths due to drug intoxication by the end of this year. That would be an increase of 18 percent over 2016. Overdose deaths have been steadily rising since 2012, when they numbered 357. Of the deaths so far in 2017, 322 have been attributed to the synthetic opioid fentanyl, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. James Gill said. In response, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said fentanyl is the main culprit in the "complex crisis." "To address this issue, we need full force of the federal government to help prevent the influx of fentanyl from abroad — particularly from countries like China," Malloy said. Meanwhile, there were 275 heroin deaths in the first half of the year. CT's July homebuilding permits higher Connecticut permits to erect new attached and detached residences rose in July, new data shows. The 104 cities and towns surveyed monthly by the U.S. Census Bureau issued 340 permits for single- and multi-family dwellings last month vs. 222 granted in July 2016, the state Department of Economic and Community Development said. Those same communities issued 324 permits in June. TOP STORY UTC, Rockwell Collins near $20B deal A n aerospace industry analyst said United Technologies Corp.'s potential acquisition of Iowa's Rockwell Collins will provide distinct benefits for both companies and is a good fit for the sector. The Wall Street Journal reported that Farmington-based UTC, which is parent to jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney, Otis Elevators, and air conditioner maker Carrier Corp., is close to acquiring aviation systems and cabin equipment maker Rockwell Collins for $20 billion. "For UTC, the deal would fill out a portfolio of aerospace capabilities that can be applied to both the commercial and military segments of the market," said Loren Thompson, an aerospace analyst with the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va.-based public policy research center focused on the defense industry and logistics. "Rockwell Collins is a second-tier player," he said. "Although they have been trying to grow in order to make it into the first tier, they need substantial financial backing. UTC would provide that. Rockwell's radios and other products could be sold more easily through UTC networks and with UTC financial backing." Thompson says the aerospace sector is in consolidation mode, because "if you're not really big in the global market it is increasingly difficult to compete." Thompson said he doesn't think the deal with pose antitrust issues because UTC is not already engaged in the product lines it would be buying. UTC has approximately 201,600 employees and had $57.4 billion in adjusted net sales in 2016. In fiscal 2016, Rockwell Collins had 30,000 employees worldwide and sales of $5.26 billion. BY THE NUMBERS $20B The sum United Technologies Corp. is reportedly willing to pay to purchase Iowa's Rockwell Collins. 539 The total number of accidental drug deaths in the state during the first of 2017, putting the state on pace to surpass last year's overdose totals, ac- cording to the Connecticut Office of the State Medical Examiner. 340 The number of permits issued for new single- and multi-family homes last month, which was up 53 percent from the year-ago period. 2.7% The increase in the median sale price ($267,000) of a Connecticut single- family home sold in July, according to the Warren Group. TOP 5 MOST READ On HartfordBusiness.com • 1. StubHub's East Granby layoffs to begin Dec. 1 • 2. Reports: UTC, Rockwell Collins near $20B deal • 3. Sanofi finishes purchase of Meriden's Protein Sciences • 4. Municipalities 'credit negative' after Malloy revises executive order • 5. CT launches public transit program for college students 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 Linkedln: 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 United Technologies Corp.'s corporate headquarters in Farmington. PHOTO | HBJ FILE A home under construction at Southington's HillCrest Village. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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