3 CT Hospitals In A 'Dire' Financial Situation: Report

CONNECTICUT — Owners of multiple hospitals in Connecticut told state legislators Tuesday that they are struggling to pay bills and are in dire need of financial support, people who attended the lawmaker gathering told the Hartford Courant.

Officials representing Waterbury, Manchester Memorial, and Rockville General hospitals—all owned by Prospect Medical Holdings—said they are likely relying on the approval of a deal to sell their hospitals to Yale New Haven Health to stay afloat, the outlet reported.

Prospect's agreement with Yale was signed in 2022, and hospital officials are concerned that the state is dragging their feet moving it forward, attendees told the the Courant.

The hospitals' financial woes have left them struggling to pay venders and contracted physicians, and even gotten to the point where they were having difficulty paying for essentials like bed linens, Sen. Saud Anwar—who is also co-chair of the legislature’s Public Health Committee and a physician under contract at Manchester Memorial—apparently said at the meeting.

Prospect Medical also owns hospitals in California, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. According to 2021 documents from the State of Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, the company took out a $1.12 billion loan in 2018, after which they paid off some existing debt and paid $457 million in dividends to its shareholders and executives.

The company then sold some of its property and buildings before leasing them back—but now, many years later, the debt remains.

According to an email reviewed by the Courant from Pat Charmel, CEO of Griffin Health in Derby, to Governor Ned Lamont, Yale is beginning to question whether the acquisition of Manchester and Waterbury hospitals "remains a prudent decision" as "none of the proceeds from [Prospect's debt refinacing] found their way to Connecticut."

Read the full report at the Hartford Courant.