Case Stands with Hospitals to Call Special Session

HARTFORD—State Rep. Jay Case (R-63) joined House and Senate Republican leadership in calling for a special legislative session that would be used to reverse cuts recently proposed by Governor Dannel P. Malloy that threaten both the vitality and services of critical community health providers such as Charlotte Hungerford Hospital.

Rep. Case and his Republican colleagues say Malloy’s plan to cut $63 million from community hospitals would jeopardize federal matching Medicaid funds, creating a much larger $190 million cut, coming at a time when hospitals are trying to keep pace with growing expenses and challenges that come with the ever-changing healthcare market.

“Three months ago, at the end of session, we said in the loudest possible voice that this would happen—that the budget that was up for debate would unravel,” Rep. Case said. “Now here we are, perhaps sooner than any of us could have predicted, contemplating hasty budget cuts that will almost certainly impact the most vulnerable among us. This situation demands that we go back to Hartford and put our heads together and fix our budget. Otherwise, we’ll continue down this patchwork path that’s going to leave everyone unhappy.”

Republicans on Tuesday were joined in Hartford by several top hospital executives, who explained to the news media that the governor’s proposed cuts threaten the livelihoods of employees, services offered to residents, and hospitals’ ability to invest in new technologies and more efficient ways of conducting business.

According to Republican leadership if the cuts do go through, then the community hospitals’ tax liability will be increased to the state by over $267 million between fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2016, raising their state tax burden to almost $500 million annually.

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