"Both our organizations have just taken a gut punch."
James Blazar
Hartford HealthCare has broken off merger talks with Day Kimball Healthcare, blaming Governor Dannel Malloy's plan to cut Medicaid reimbursement payments.
In a press release Monday, Hartford HealthCare said that because HHC would stand to lose $55 million in the cuts, it can't afford a major capital expenditure now.
"This reckless slashing of Medicaid funding makes it difficult for HHC to create a path forward with Day Kimball Healthcare right now," said James Blazar, Hartford HealthCare’s senior vice president and chief strategy transformation officer, in the press release. "Both our organizations have just taken a gut punch."
The groups had announced in July they were exploring an affiliation. The merger would have had the 122-bed Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam join the network that includes Hartford, Backus and Windham hospitals, MidState Medical Center and The Hospital of Central Connecticut.
The Malloy administration announced last month it was planning more than $102 million in budget cuts to keep the state's $20 billion budget in balance. About $63.4 million would come from the Connecticut Department of Social Services in the form of state Medicaid payments to hospitals.
Leyda Quast is an intern at WNPR. This report includes information from The Associated Press.
