Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has updated an executive order issued in February to extend the moratorium on hospital mergers in the state for five more months, according to the New Haven Register.
In February, Gov. Malloy ordered the Connecticut Department of Public Health to push back final decisions on certain hospital deals until 2017 while a task force made up of physicians, hospital representatives, insurers and state officials examines the state's certificate of need process.
The task force originally had until Dec. 1 to report its findings to Gov. Malloy. That date has now been extended to Jan. 15, 2017. To allow time to review the task force's report and implement any recommended changes, Gov. Malloy has extended the moratorium on CON applications from Jan. 15, 2017, to June 30, 2017, according to the report.
The executive order only applies to transactions that could result in a health system's operating revenue accounting for more than 20 percent of hospital operating revenues in the state, based on fiscal year 2014 numbers. Since Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Health System's operating revenue exceeds the threshold, the order affects its proposed affiliation with Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, according to the report.
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