Lamont says he’s open to tighter restrictions on private equity ownership of CT hospitals; requests independent monitor for Prospect-owned facilities
MARK PAZNIOKAS / CT Mirror
Gov. Ned Lamont speaks at a news conference at the state Capitol.
Gov. Ned Lamont indicated Tuesday he might be willing to revisit the terms under which private equity firms are allowed to acquire hospitals in Connecticut.
Lamont also said he has requested an independent monitor be allowed to oversee patient care at the Connecticut hospitals owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, which is locked in a legal battle with Yale New Haven Health after Yale backed out of a 2022 deal to acquire Manchester Memorial, Rockville General and Waterbury hospitals.
The state Department of Health is already conducting inspections of the hospitals, but Lamont said last week he was in touch with Prospect to allow additional oversight by an independent body.
“You’ve got to watch closely to make sure that quality of care is not being compromised,” he said.
Yale has accused private-equity-owned Prospect of failing to negotiate the deal in good faith and of breaching its contract by defaulting on rent, payments to physicians and tax liabilities, and engaging in a “pattern of irresponsible financial practices.”
Prospect has also been the subject of state investigations that allege patient abuse at Manchester Memorial and Waterbury hospitals.
Last session, four bills that would have reformed the state’s Certificate of Need process failed to pass. The CON process provides oversight of ownership changes for healthcare facilities in Connecticut.
Speaking at a media conference Tuesday, Lamont said he sees a case for tighter oversight.
“You want to make sure that none of the financial shenanigans which undercut Prospect can happen at other hospitals - where they put a big debt on top of Prospect going out to a private equity firm, and sucked a lot of cash out of those hospitals,” he said.
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