Milford's State Rep. Urges Governor Malloy to Pay Hospitals

From the office of State Representative Kim Rose:

State Rep. Kim Rose (D-Milford) issued a communication to Governor Malloy urging him to reinstate payments due to hospitals.

At the beginning of the month, the Malloy administration announced the suspension of about $140 million in payments to Connecticut’s hospitals due to a decrease in tax revenues.

“Since the first round of potential cuts was announced last September, I added my voice for the fulfillment of the state’s obligations to what had been already approved by the legislature,” Rep. Rose said. “The health care services offered to our residents by our area hospitals are critical to our communities.”

Rep. Rose added, “I will continue my work to defend my constituents and do what is right for the people we serve.”

The letter to the governor is attached.

Rep. Rose is serving her third term in the State Legislature.

The full letter reads:

"Dear Governor Malloy,

I am writing to you today urging the reinstatement of payments due to our local hospitals – they need to get paid. The withholding of these payments to small community hospitals, such as Milford Hospital, will have devastating effects on their ability to continue to provide high quality, safe and cost effective care that patients and our community deserve.

The original provider tax authorized by the General Assembly in June 2015 assessed Milford Hospital $2,058,665. Inpatient and Small Hospital receipts authorized to be paid to Milford Hospital $635,890 and $728,321 respectively, resulting in a net loss of $694,454. The revised budget of December 2015 required Milford Hospital to receive Inpatient and Small Hospital receipts totaling $396,119 and $736,810 respectively. This revised authorization increased their net loss to $925,676. The March 2nd, 2016 notice from Secretary Barnes, to withhold additional payments increases Milford Hospital’s net annual loss to $1,872,899.

Over the past eight years, Milford Hospital has been experiencing significant financial losses, as seen by operating expenses that have been cut approximately $10 million from Fiscal Years 2008 to 2015. Beyond this, Milford Hospital stands as the city’s largest employer and contributes over $168 million to the local economy. Further cuts will have a devastating impact on our Hospital and quality of care, as well as a devastating impact to the community.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope you can support our call to release these critical funds for our hospital.

Respectfully,

Kim Rose State Representative"