Regional News/Northeast: Hospital conversion bill advances in Connecticut

A bill that would prohibit not-for-profit hospitals from converting to for-profits moved ahead last week in the Connecticut Legislature.

The bill, which cleared the Joint Committee on Public Health in a 16-9 vote, would add regulatory requirements affecting ownership changes of not-for-profit hospitals and make state bond money available as grants for hospital capital improvements. But the most controversial part of the bill is its restriction on converting to for-profit status after Oct. 1. It's a move that Sen. Majority Leader Martin Looney, a Democrat who co-sponsored the bill, says is “on the right track.”

“We should not allow additional for-profit hospitals into our state until we have all of the information on all of the various entities that are bidding to make profits from the healthcare needs of our citizens,” Looney told the committee last week.

For-profit Tenet Healthcare Corp. recently announced a partnership with not-for-profit Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health System. The two systems are in discussions that could result in deals with four of the state's not-for-profit hospitals: Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital; Bristol (Conn.) Hospital; Rockville General Hospital, Vernon; and Manchester (Conn.) Memorial Hospital.

Follow Rachel Landen on Twitter: @MHrlanden