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August 26, 2024

CT AG reaches deal to preserve labor, delivery services at Sharon Hospital, end antitrust probe

PHOTO | Contributed Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Conn.
By David Krechevsky

The state Attorney General’s office announced Monday it has reached an agreement to preserve labor and delivery services at Sharon Hospital.

Attorney General William Tong said the deal also resolves his antitrust investigation into the proposed affiliation between two hospital systems, Nuvance Health and Northwell Health, and will “strengthen access to local healthcare” in the western part of the state.

Nuvance includes Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital, Norwalk Hospital, and Sharon Hospital in Connecticut, as well as three hospitals in New York. Northwell Health is an integrated health care delivery system that includes 21 hospitals across New York.

Under the “agreement of assurances,” signed by offices of the attorneys general for both Connecticut and New York, Northwell Health agrees to several conditions enforceable for five years to maintain competition in the healthcare market and affordable access to healthcare. 

The conditions include:

  • Preserving, strengthening and expanding women’s health services, including maternity and labor and delivery services at Sharon Hospital.
  • Committing financial and operational resources towards installing a unified electronic medical records system, including related IT and cybersecurity expertise required for improvements of Nuvance’s IT infrastructure and enhancement of data security, and 
  • Negotiating rates for reimbursement of services independently for Connecticut and New York facilities, and to otherwise comply with the terms of Connecticut’s new statute prohibiting all-or-nothing, anti-steering, anti-tiering clauses in network agreements between payors or plan sponsors and providers. The purpose of this statute is to enable employers, insurers and other payors to keep costs from skyrocketing as healthcare systems consolidate.

“Miles and minutes matter when it comes to labor and delivery, and I am pleased that Northwell has committed to preserving affordable, lifesaving care — especially maternity care — for Western Connecticut,” Tong said in a statement. “This is a strong, enforceable agreement for healthcare access in Connecticut.”

This proposed affiliation is also still pending approval through the state Office of Health Strategy’s Certificate of Need regulatory process.

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