Democratic Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has proposed increasing taxes on hospitals to help address the state's budget impasse, reports The Connecticut Mirror.
The governor announced the proposal Sept. 8 as part of the overall two-year proposed budget he sent to lawmakers. Connecticut began its fiscal year July 1 without a budget, and a stalemate continues.
Mr. Malloy's office said in a news release updating provider tax provisions and increasing the tax rate are efforts designed to bring in more general fund revenue His office has said updating provider tax provisions and increasing the tax rate are efforts designed to bring in more general fund revenue "that will support healthcare investments" and bring in hundred of millions in federal grant revenue over the course of two fiscal years.
"This compromise is responsive to feedback from hospitals and municipalities and represents a shift away from the governor's original budget put forward in February, which proposed a local option for taxing hospitals' real property for municipal revenue and then offsetting that tax with supplemental payments to hospitals," the office added.
"Hospitals will gain approximately $52 million each year compared to fiscal year 2017."
But the Connecticut Hospital Association has come out against the proposal.
Association CEO Jennifer Jackson told The Connecticut Mirror, hospitals "will be forced to cut back on the people we employ. We will be forced to cut back on important and critical projects … that better serve our patients. Not only does it hurt the sick and the poor, it would continue to hurt the economy."
Read the full report here.
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