State Sen. Craig Miner Speaks with Hospitals in District and Listens to the Proposed Settlement Between the State and Hospitals

Sen. Miner sits in the well of the House as the Attorney General and Governor’s Budget Director give the details of the hospital settlement on Friday December 13th.

Hartford—State Sen. Craig Miner (R-Litchfield), today attended a Joint Public Hearing with members of the Appropriations, Finance, and Public Health Committees on the settlement reached between the state and hospitals operating in the state.

The hospitals originally sued the state in 2015, claiming that actions taken by the Malloy Administration limiting supplemental payments to the hospitals were unconstitutional. In 2011, the state imposed a “provider tax” on the hospitals to leverage more federal Medicaid funding, but the hospital payments decreased as the state appropriated the federal money for other services. The settlement, which must be voted on by the full legislature Wednesday, would have the state pay $1.8 billion to the hospitals and avoid exposure to over $4 billion worth of liability.

The tax was passed in 2011 during the first year of the Malloy Administration. Sen. Miner, then a state representative, voted against it.

“I have reviewed the hospital settlement and spoken with the hospitals in the 30^th district,” said Sen. Miner. “The hospitals feel that this money will help them after years of bad faith and broken promises by the previous administration. Charlotte Hungerford, New Milford, and Sharon Hospitals are huge employers in Northwest Connecticut. I’m hoping that this deal will help them to continue the mission of caring for the people in our corner of the state.”