CT Office Of Health Strategy Reaches Agreement With Danbury Proton

DANBURY, CT — Danbury Proton has reached an agreement with the state Office of Health Strategy to build a $72 million proton therapy center in Danbury, officials announced.

Proton beam therapy is a radiation treatment that delivers a precisely targeted beam of protons to disrupt and destroy tumor cells. Such cancer treatment is not yet available in Connecticut, in part because proton beam therapy is still a new and evolving therapy.

The agreement allows the opening and operation of only a single treatment room, in order to ensure use of the treatment when supported by the scientific literature.

From the announcement:

A proton therapy center to be operated as a joint effort between Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health Systems is currently under construction and expected to open by the end of 2026. Applications to bring healthcare equipment utilizing technology new to the state require Certificate of Need approval via decision or agreed settlement.

“Making advances in cancer care available to Connecticut residents, especially patients with complex cancers when their oncologist determines that proton beam therapy may be an appropriate treatment option, is important,” said Deidre S. Gifford, MD, MPH, Commissioner. “This agreement ensures that this new technology will enter our state’s health system in a manner that aligns with our commitment to healthcare access, affordability, equity and quality.”

The agreed settlement includes provisions ensuring the center meets the State’s conditions, including licensure, registration and accreditation requirements. The agreed settlement also requires the center to become credentialed as a Medicaid provider and to commit at least five percent of net revenue to providing care for the uninsured and/or covering patients’ out-of-pockets. A key provision in the agreement holds Danbury Proton accountable for ensuring annual contract increases with commercial insurers do not exceed the State’s cost growth benchmark for the plan year.

“Transparency is more important than ever in healthcare,” said Gifford. “We are pleased that Danbury Proton has committed to sharing all final agreements related to the establishment of their facility with us. They have also committed to ongoing compliance and reporting that will help us understand who is receiving care, how that care is paid for, and if patients have equitable access to care.”

To read the Agreed Settlement for Danbury Proton, LLC, search docket no. 32678 on the CON Portal and select view documents.