Rockville General Hospital in Vernon, Connecticut.
HARTFORD, CT — Attorney General William Tong’s office has reached an agreement with Hartford Healthcare to help protect against rising healthcare costs and ensure professional freedom for doctors to choose where they work as Hartford Healthcare acquires Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals from bankrupt Prospect Medical.
According to a statement from Tong, the agreement resolves an antitrust review by his office triggered by the state’s “notice of material change” statute. That statute requires the Office of the Attorney General to review certain healthcare transactions, including hospital and physician practice mergers and other transactions, for potential antitrust and anticompetitive concerns to protect access to high quality and affordable healthcare, Tong said.
“HHC has agreed to a series of significant conditions designed to mitigate the transaction’s potential anticompetitive effects, including safeguards for physician mobility, commitments to maintain an open medical staff, and obligations to limit reimbursement increases for certain physician services,” the agreement states. “The Attorney General deems these measures to be in the public interest, as they help ensure that the benefits of preserving the failing business and affiliated physician practice are realized while minimizing the potential for immediate post-merger price increases, reduced patient choice, or diminished competition.”
Manchester Memorial and Rockville General are both generally lower cost than Hartford Healthcare hospitals, Tong said. The agreement limits cost increases that Hartford Healthcare can impose at Manchester and Rockville for two years. The agreement also waives non-compete clauses in physician contracts to enable physicians to move to other jobs within 90 days, should they choose to do so. Importantly, physicians who choose to shift to other hospital systems or physician practices will maintain privileges at Manchester and Rockville under the agreement, among other terms.
The company did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment Monday evening.
“I appreciate that Hartford Healthcare has stepped up to acquire and restore Manchester Memorial and Rockville General, and to ensure that the patients in those communities may access affordable, high-quality community-based care after years of mismanagement by private equity,” Tong said. “I believe this transaction will be a net positive for Connecticut, for patients and for providers. But healthcare consolidation is concerning, for its potential to raise costs and reduce choice for us all. This agreement seeks to balance the need for stable, new ownership of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General, while ensuring that costs remain affordable and physician careers are protected.”
Gov. Ned Lamont agreed.
“At a critical moment for protecting access to quality care and the many jobs that support our health care system, Hartford Healthcare stepped forward to provide stability and ensure continuity of care for the communities that rely on these hospitals,” Lamont said. “This approved agreement also strikes an important balance by establishing meaningful patient protections, including limits on price increases, and represents good news for patients and for the overall strength of Connecticut’s health care system.”
Sen. Jeff Gordon, R-Woodstock, discusses a bill to require towns to report housing construction permit activity to the state Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at the state Capitol in Hartford. Credit: Doug Hardy / CTNewsJunkie
State Sen. Jeff Gordon, R-Woodstock, who is a medical doctor, said the state must work in a bipartisan manner to prevent the sale of hospital real estate and assets to a third party as part of profit schemes that require the hospitals to be saddled with expensive lease payments they cannot afford.
“It’s why I proposed the ‘Putting Patients Over Profits Act’ this year to prevent for-profit private equity firms buying or controlling Connecticut hospitals,” he said.
The state must also protect health care professionals making medical decisions from what he called the corporatization of medicine by business interests.
“Our North Star must always be: Patients above profits,” he said.
The antitrust review by the Office of the Attorney General is separate from the review process conducted by the Office of Health Strategy. OHS previously approved the transaction on December 10, with the following conditions on Hartford Healthcare:
• Provide an initial assessment of the condition of Manchester Memorial Hospital and the Rockville campus, as well as a strategic integration plan, within nine months;
• Engage the community in both strategic planning and community health needs assessment (CHNA) processes within nine months;
• Maintain services offered under the Manchester Memorial Hospital license, which includes the Rockville campus, for the later of three years from the closing of the transaction or 90 days after the publication of the second CHNA, including current labor and delivery and intensive care services;
• Maintain service levels unless OHS grants prior approval for reductions;
• Notify OHS within 30 days of any reallocation of inpatient beds or relocation of outpatient services.
In addition, the conditions require preservation of a 24/7 Emergency Department in the town of Vernon, for at least three years and maintenance of the full complement of inpatient behavioral health services at or within 30 miles of the Rockville campus.
The Office of the Attorney General is actively involved in the ongoing bankruptcy proceeding for Prospect Medical Holding, and has filed a proof of claim in the proceeding asserting claims for negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, negligent performance of duties, violations of privacy laws and violations of the Connecticut Unfair Practices Act.
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