CT OHS begins confidential settlement talks with Danbury Proton

HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Office of Health Strategy Executive Director Deidre Gifford in her Hartford office.

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The state Office of Health Strategy (OHS) said Monday it has begun confidential talks with Danbury Proton LLC in hopes of reaching a settlement for its Certificate of Need (CON) application to establish a proton therapy center for cancer treatment.

In announcing the talks, OHS also said it has introduced a new notification to its CON application process that informs the public when OHS and an applicant have entered into confidential settlement negotiations.

“Danbury Proton LLC … is the first applicant to participate in the notification process with OHS,” the agency said in a news release. “Connecticut statute permits OHS to reach an agreed settlement with an applicant to serve the best interest of Connecticut residents.”

Danbury Proton filed an application for CON approval for its proton therapy center on Nov. 6 last year. It was the second CON application for the Danbury center; OHS denied the first application, citing factors such as the financial feasibility of the project.

The estimated $90 million center, if approved, would be located at 85 Wooster Heights Road in Danbury.

When the second CON application was filed, Drew Crandall, a spokesperson for Danbury Proton, said communication between it and OHS has been “significantly enhanced,” under OHS’ leadership since Dr. Deidre Gifford took over as executive director.

“In connection with this re-application, we will continue to work with OHS staff to develop a proposal that OHS can support,” Crandall said at the time.

Proton therapy uses a high energy beam of protons to target cancer. Proponents say it allows for safer and targeted delivery of radiation, with less impact on healthy tissue and fewer negative side effects.

Gifford said the settlement negotiations begin only “after the public has had an opportunity to participate in the process by requesting a public hearing, seeking intervenor status or submitting testimony.”

Confidentiality in settlement negotiations allows “for more productive bargaining and encourages open and honest discussions by protecting sensitive or proprietary information from public disclosure,” OHS said. It also prevents outside influence on both the applicant and the agency, it said.

The goal in any negotiations is to reach a settlement “that is in the best interests of Connecticut residents and will adequately address issues OHS has identified as failing to meet quality, access and affordability criteria that fall within its statutory obligations,” OHS said.

The agency also noted that while state statutes require that final action — whether it be a decision, a proposed final decision, final decision or agreed settlement — be taken within a specified time period, OHS and the applicant have agreed to suspend these deadlines for 60 days in order to pursue a possible settlement.”

OHS added that it and Danbury Proton may agree to suspend the deadline beyond 60 days “if appropriate progress is being made toward an agreed settlement.”

Should a settlement be reached, it would be released to the public; if no settlement is reached, OHS said, it will resume decision-writing and issue a final action within 60 days following the conclusion of negotiations.

If approved, the Danbury project would be the state’s second proton therapy center. Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health System broke ground in October on their new, jointly owned, $75 million proton therapy center in Wallingford, which received approval from OHS two years ago.